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Los Angeles, January 26, 2025 – A new study presented at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ annual meeting in Los Angeles has shown that lung resections, particularly lobectomy and segmentectomy, significantly improve long-term survival in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), specifically those diagnosed with stage IA. These findings challenge previous approaches that favored wedge resection and offer new insights for clinicians tailoring treatment strategies.
The research, led by Dr. Christopher Seder from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, involved an extensive analysis of data from 32,340 patients undergoing lung resection surgery for stage IA NSCLC across 346 U.S. institutions. Among the participants, 61.2% underwent lobectomy, 13.2% segmentectomy, and 25.6% wedge resection.
The study revealed that lobectomy, the surgical removal of a lung lobe, was associated with improved overall survival (OS) and lung-cancer specific survival (LCSS) compared to sublobar resections, including wedge resection. Specifically, lobectomy offered a significant advantage over wedge resection, with hazard ratios of 0.84 for OS and 0.88 for LCSS. The researchers also found that segmentectomy, while not outperforming lobectomy, still provided better survival outcomes than wedge resection, with hazard ratios of 0.88 for OS and 0.91 for LCSS.
In a further sensitivity analysis that excluded cases with pathologic upstaging, the survival benefits of lobectomy were even more pronounced, particularly when compared to segmentectomy. The analysis showed a hazard ratio of 0.88 for OS and 0.89 for LCSS in favor of lobectomy over segmentectomy, while survival outcomes between segmentectomy and wedge resection were similar.
“This research is a significant step forward in understanding the long-term implications of surgical choices for lung cancer patients,” said Dr. Seder. “Using real-world data to complement randomized controlled trial findings offers surgeons additional context for tailoring treatment strategies.”
The findings underscore the importance of selecting the most appropriate surgical procedure for early-stage NSCLC patients to optimize long-term survival.
Disclaimer: The findings presented in this study are based on data from a retrospective analysis. Further research, including randomized controlled trials, is necessary to confirm these results and determine the most effective treatment strategies for individual patients. Always consult with a healthcare professional for personalized medical advice.
