Prognostic factors in neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery in stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer: a multi-institutional study by the Oncologic Group for the Study of Lung Cancer (Spanish Radiation Oncology Society).

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic factors associated with survival in patients treated with neoadjuvant treatment [chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or chemotherapy] followed by surgery (CRTS) in patients with stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted of 118 patients diagnosed with stage T1-T3N2M0 NSCLC and treated with CRTS at 14 hospitals in Spain between January 2005 and December 2014. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Cox regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Surgery consisted of lobectomy (74.5% of cases), pneumectomy (17.8%), or bilobectomy (7.6%). Neoadjuvant treatment was CRT in 62 patients (52.5%) and chemotherapy alone in 56 patients (47.5%). Median follow-up was 42.5 months (5-128 months). 5-year OS and PFS were 51.1% and 49.4%, respectively. The following variables were independently associated with worse OS and PFS: pneumonectomy (vs. lobectomy); advanced pathologic T stage (pT3 vs. pT0-pT2); and presence of persistent N2 disease (vs. ypN0-1) in the surgical specimen. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of patients with stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC treated with CRTS, 5-year survival (both OS and PFS) was approximately 50%. After CRTS, the patients with the best prognosis were those whose primary tumour and/or mediastinal nodal metastases were downstaged after induction therapy and those who underwent lobectomy. These findings provide further support for neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery in selected patients.

Neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery versus definitive chemoradiation in stage IIIA-N2 non-small-cell lung cancer: A multi-institutional study by the oncologic group for the study of lung cancer (Spanish Radiation Oncology Society).

OBJECTIVES: The role of surgery in stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an actively debated in oncology. To evaluate the value of surgery in this patient population, we conducted a multi-institutional retrospective study comparing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy plus surgery (CRTS) to definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 247 patients with potentially resectable stage T1-T3N2M0 NSCLC treated with either CRTS or dCRT between January 2005 and December 2014 at 15 hospitals in Spain were identified. A centralized review was performed to ensure resectability. A propensity score matched analysis was carried out to balance patient and tumor characteristics (n = 78 per group). RESULTS: Of the 247 patients, 118 were treated with CRTS and 129 with dCRT. In the CRTS group, 62 patients (52.5%) received neoadjuvant CRT and 56 (47.4%) neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Surgery consisted of either lobectomy (97 patients; 82.2%) or pneumonectomy (21 patients; 17.8%). In the matched samples, median overall survival (OS; 56 vs 29 months, log-rank p = .002) and progression-free survival (PFS; 46 vs 15 months, log-rank p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the CRTS group. This survival advantage for CRTS was maintained in the subset comparison between the lobectomy subgroup versus dCRT (OS: 57 vs 29 months, p < 0.001; PFS: 46 vs 15 months, p < 0.001), but not in the comparison between the pneumonectomy subgroup and dCRT. CONCLUSION: The findings reported here indicate that neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery (preferably lobectomy) yields better OS and PFS than definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with resectable stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC.