Objective To summarize our initial experience in robot-assisted lobectomy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods A total of 20 NSCLC patients underwent robot-assisted pulmonary lobectomy in General Hospital of Shenyang Military Command from March to September 2012. There were 13 males and 7 females, and their age was 43-80 （60.40±8.07） years. Single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy technique was used，and systemic mediastinal and hilar lymph node dissection was routinely performed during the operation. There were 4 right upper lobectomies，7 right lower lobectomies，1 right middle lobectomy，7 left lower lobectomies，and 1 left upper lobectomy. Results Postoperative pathological examination showed adenocarcinoma in 12 patients，squamous cell carcinoma in 5 patients，adenosquamous carcinoma in 2 patients，and mucoepidermoid carcinoma in 1 patient. One patient undergoing left upper lobectomy had intraoperative pulmonary artery bleeding of 500 ml，who was healed by pulmonary artery repair via an accessory small incision and blood transfusion of 400 ml. All the other 19 patients successfully underwent robot-assisted lobectomy with their mean intraoperative blood loss of 60.00±42.95 （10-200） ml, and no blood transfusion was needed for them. All the patients were successfully extubated after operation, and none of the patients had severe postoperative complication. The mean thoracic drainage time was 9.35±3.48 （3-15） days. All the patients were discharged uneventfully and followed up for 2-9 （6.01±2.09） months without recurrence or metastasis. Conclusions Robot-assisted pulmonary lobectomy using Da Vinci S Surgical System is safe and feasible，and especially advantageous for lymph node dissection. It can be used for the treatment of early stage NSCLC.
Objective To evaluate the safety，efficacy，short- and long-term clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods Clinical data of231 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent complete VATS lobectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of NanjingMedical University between June 2006 and March 2011 were retrospective analyzed. There were 132 male and 99 femalepatients with their age of 15-81 （59.51±11.90） years. Preoperative cancer staging wasⅠa in 149 patients，Ⅰb in 50 patients，Ⅱa in 14 patients，Ⅱb in 13 patients and Ⅲa in 5 patients. There were 152 patients with adenocarcinoma，41 patients with squamous carcinoma，23 patients with bronchioalveolar carcinoma，5 patients with adenosquamous carcinoma，4 patients with large cell carcinoma，and 6 patients with other carcinoma. Follow-up data were statistically analyzed，and short-and long-term survival rates were calculated. Results No perioperative mortality was observed. Operation time was 60-370（199.14±51.04） minutes，and intraoperative blood loss was 10-2 300 （168.19±176.39） ml. Thirty-seven patients had postoperative complications including air leak，pulmonary infection，atelectasis，arrhythmia，subcutaneous emphysema andothers，who were all cured after conservative treatment. Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 11.14±5.49，and meannumber of explored nodal stations was 3.66±1.52. There were 51 patients （22.08%） whose postoperative cancer staging wasmore advanced than preoperative cancer staging. Postoperative hospital stay was 3-36 （10.79±5.13） days. Primary causesof prolonged postoperative hospitalization included pulmonary air leak，pulmonary infection，preoperative concomitant chronic pulmonary diseases （COPD，asthma），and moderate to severe pulmonary dysfunction. A total of 228 patients werefollowed up for a mean duration of 40.83 months （22-82 months），and 3 patients were lost during follow-up. Overall 5-yearsurvival rates were 85.78%，52.54% and 32.70% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. Five-year cancerfreesurvival rates were 80.00%，45.37% and 20.99% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. ConclusionThe advantages of VATS lobectomy include smaller surgical incision，less injury and postoperative pain，quicker postoperative recovery and shorter hospital stay. Long-term survival rate is comparable to previous international and Chinese studies. VATS lobectomy can anatomically achieve complete tumor resection and systematic lymph node dissection. VATS lobectomy will become a standard surgical procedure for NSCLC patients.
Objective To predict clinical chemotherapy sensitivity of primary non-small cell lung cancer（NSCLC） by methylthiazal （MTT） tumor chemosensitivity assay method in vitro and detection of multidrug resistance gene1 （MDR1）, and provide reference for clinical individualized treatment. Methods We selected 80 fresh primary NSCLC samples from NSCLC patients who underwent surgical resection in Zibo Central Hospital Affiliated to Binzhou Medical College between January 2009 and December 2011. There were 46 male patients and 34 female patients with their median age of 54 （29 to 81）years. Viable NSCLC cells obtained from malignant tissue were tested for their sensitivity to cisplatin （DDP）, gemcitabine （GEM）, docetaxe （DOC）, etoposide （VP-16） ,and vinorelbine （NVB） using MTT assay in vitro. Fluorescent quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） was used to analysis the expression level of multidrug resistance gene1 （MDR1）. Results After exposure to antitumor drugs, morphologic changes, decrease of metabolic activity, and apoptosis were detected in NSCLC cells. MTT results showed that different individual cancer cells had different chemosensitivity to antitumor drugs, and cancer cells also had different chemosensitivity to different antitumor drugs. Inhibitory rates of cancer cells exposed to DOC, GEM, and VP-16 were significantly higher than those of cancer cells exposed to DDP and NVB （42.5%±9.5%, 40.5%±6.5%, 38.4%±7.6% versus 31.5%±8.5%，32.5%±7.8%, P＜0.05）.The positive rate of MDR1 in tumor tissues was 40.0% （32/80）. The expression of MDR1 was not associated with tumor histological type, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. The expression of MDR1 was associated with resistance to NVB （χ2=5.209，P=0.022），GEM （χ2=4.769，P=0.029），VP-16 （χ2=4.596，P=0.032），and DDP（χ2=6.086，P=0.014）, but not associated with resistance to DOC（χ2=0.430，P=0.512）. Conclusion MTT chemosensitivity assay can effectively predict clinical chemotherapy sensitivity. Detection of MDR1, together with MTT chemosensitivity assay, can more accurately predict NSCLC chemosensitivity and be a guide for individualized chemotherapy of NSCLC.