Stage III thymic epithelial neoplasms are not homogeneous with regard to clinical, pathological, and prognostic features.

INTRODUCTION: The main therapeutic approach to a Masaoka stage III thymic epithelial neoplasm (TEN) is surgical resection, and the 5-year survival rate is approximately 60%. According to the Masaoka staging system, invasion of neighboring organs is classified as stage III disease, regardless of the number of organs involved or the size of the tumor. We retrospectively analyzed the prognostic significance associated with the extent of disease in patients with Masaoka stage III TENs. METHODS: From 1995 to 2006, 241 patients were identified with thymomas. Among these patients, 59 were diagnosed with Masaoka stage III disease. The patients with a stage III TEN were advised to have extended thymectomy with en bloc resection of the invaded structures as the initial treatment. The prognostic significance of the size, organs invaded, and other factors were analyzed. RESULTS: The overall survival rates for the stage III patients were 83% and 64%, and the recurrence-free survival rates were 56% and 51%, at 5 and 8 years, respectively. Patients with a low-grade World Health Organization classification (p = 0.0202) or a complete resection (p < 0.0001) had a better overall survival. In addition, patients with tumors less than 6.5 cm (p = 0.0311) or with pericardium invasion (p = 0.0299) had a better recurrence-free survival. The patients with limited disease had a better prognosis for a recurrence-free survival than did patients with extensive disease (p = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneous prognostic subgroups based on tumor size and organs invaded were identified in patients with Masaoka stage III TENs. Therapeutic plans, based on these subgroups, will potentially improve patient management and treatment outcomes.

Prediction of recurrence-free survival in postoperative non-small cell lung cancer patients by using an integrated model of clinical information and gene expression.

PURPOSE: One of the main challenges of lung cancer research is identifying patients at high risk for recurrence after surgical resection. Simple, accurate, and reproducible methods of evaluating individual risks of recurrence are needed. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Based on a combined analysis of time-to-recurrence data, censoring information, and microarray data from a set of 138 patients, we selected statistically significant genes thought to be predictive of disease recurrence. The number of genes was further reduced by eliminating those whose expression levels were not reproducible by real-time quantitative PCR. Within these variables, a recurrence prediction model was constructed using Cox proportional hazard regression and validated via two independent cohorts (n = 56 and n = 59). RESULTS: After performing a log-rank test of the microarray data and successively selecting genes based on real-time quantitative PCR analysis, the most significant 18 genes had P values of <0.05. After subsequent stepwise variable selection based on gene expression information and clinical variables, the recurrence prediction model consisted of six genes (CALB1, MMP7, SLC1A7, GSTA1, CCL19, and IFI44). Two pathologic variables, pStage and cellular differentiation, were developed. Validation by two independent cohorts confirmed that the proposed model is significantly accurate (P = 0.0314 and 0.0305, respectively). The predicted median recurrence-free survival times for each patient correlated well with the actual data. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed an accurate, technically simple, and reproducible method for predicting individual recurrence risks. This model would potentially be useful in developing customized strategies for managing lung cancer.

Comparison of operative mortality and complications between bronchoplastic lobectomy and pneumonectomy in lung cancer patients.

Bronchoplastic lobectomy is a lung-saving procedure indicated for central tumors, for which the alternative is pneumonectomy. We compared operative mortality and complications between bronchoplastic lobectomy and pneumonectomy in lung cancer patients. From March 1993 through December 2005, 1,461 patients were surgically resected for non-small cell lung cancer, including 73 who underwent bronchoplastic lobectomy and 258 who underwent pneumonectomy. Bronchoplastic lobectomy was performed on any lesion that could be completely resected by this technique, whereas pneumonectomy was only performed on lesions that could not be removed by bronchoplastic lobectomy. Operative deaths occurred in 1 of 73 (1.4%) bronchoplastic lobectomy and 26 of 258 (10.1%) pneumonectomy patients (p=0.014). Major complications occurred in 16 of 73 (21.9%) bronchoplastic lobectomy and 58 of 258 (22.5%) pneumonectomy patients (p=1.0). Bronchoplastic lobectomy has a lower risk of operative mortality than pneumonectomy. Although the complication rates were similar, bronchoplastic lobectomy was associated with improved postoperative cardiopulmonary status and a low prevalence of fatal complications after bronchial anastomosis. These findings indicate that bronchoplastic lobectomy is a valuable alternative to pneumonectomy for anatomically appropriate patients, regardless of underlying cardiopulmonary function.