Abstract: Objective To evaluate the safety, feasibility, and clinical outcome of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 160 consecutive patients(the VATS group, 83 males and 77 females with average age at 60.8 years)with early-stage NSCLC who underwent complete VATS lobectomy between January 2005 andDecember 2008 in Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University,and compared them with 357 patients(the thoracotomy group, 222 males and 135 females with average age at 59.5 years)who underwent open thoracotomy in the same period. Results The conversion rate of the VATS group was 5.0%(8/160). The operation time of the VATS group was significantly shorter than that of the thoracotomy group(113.0 min vs.125.0 min, P=0.039). Length of postoperative hospital stay was not statistically different between the two groups(10.3±4.3 d vs.9.1±4.6 d,P=0.425). The postoperative morbidity of the VATS lobectomy group and the thoracotomy group was 9.4%(15/160)and 10.1% (36/357) respectively,and the postoperative mortality of the two groups was 0.6%(1/160)and 2.0%(7/357)respectively. There was no statistical difference in the mean group of lymph node dissection (2.4±1.5 groups vs.2.4±1.7 groups,P=0.743) and the mean number of lymph node dissection (9.8±6.3 vs.10.1±6.4,P=0.626) between the two groups. The overall 5-year survival rate of the VATS group was significantly higher than that of the thoracotomy group (81.5% vs.67.8%, P=0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the 5-year survival rate of pⅠa stage, pⅠb stage, and pⅢa stage was 86.0%, 84.5%, and 58.8% respectively in the VATS group, and 92.9%, 76.4%, and 25.3% respectively in the thoracotomy group. Conclusion Complete VATS lobectomy is technically safe and feasible for patients with early-stage NSCLC. The lymph node dissection extension of complete VATS lobectomy is similar to that of open thoracotomy, and long-term outcome of complete VATS lobectomy is superior to that of open thoracotomy. Randomized controlled trials of large sample size are further needed to demonstrate superiority.
Citation: JIANG Wei,XI Junjie,WANG Hao,et al .. Clinical Outcome of Complete Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Lobectomy for Patients with Early-stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2012, 19(2): 120-124. doi: Copy