Abstract
BACKGROUND: Currently, the prognosis of lobectomy and sub-lobectomy for the treatment of stage Ia small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is rarely reported. We retrospectively studied T1N0M0 (≤3 cm) SCLC patients aged ≥60 years, aiming to comparatively analyze the prognosis of lobectomy and sub-lobectomy in treating patients with Ia SCLC. METHODS: Patients with stage Ia SCLC diagnosed by pathologic between 1992 and 2010 were selected from the "Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database"(SEER). Outcome data were compared using Kaplan-Meier (Log-rank test) and Cox model multivariate analysis. RESULTS: We identified 515 patients. Median overall survival (OS) of the lobectomy (n=110), sublobar resection (n=57) and non-surgical (n=348) cohort were 45, 23 and 16 months, respectively. The corresponding 5-year OS of the three groups were 44%, 30%, and 14%, respectively. No significant difference in the prognosis of patients with or without lymph node examination/ dissection (P=0.107) and the 5-year OS of patients underwent lobectomy with chemoradiation was 50%. Cox multivariable analysis showed that operation treatment, including lobectomy and sublobectomy, was one of the independent factors associated with the prognosis of early SCLC patients, and patients undergo lobectomy shows a better OS compared with sublobar resection (Lob vs Sub, HR=0.645; 95%CI: 0.433-0.961, P=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: For age ≥60 years T1N0M0 (≤3 cm) SCLC patients, we recommend anatomical lobectomy combined with adjuvant chemoradiation.