RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Local therapy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is divided into surgical and radiation treatment, and given to patients unable to tolerate a lobectomy. A prospective phase II study of cases that received stereotactic body radio therapy (SBRT) (JCOG0403) revealed an overall 3-year survival rate (3-YSR) of 76.0 %, 3-year relapse free survival rate (3-YRFS) of 69.0 %, and rate of morbidity of grade 3 or greater of 9 %. However, few prospective multicenter studies have reported regarding surgery for high-risk stage I NSCLC patients. METHODS: We investigated this issue in the setting of a prospective multicenter observational study. Thirty-two high-risk NSCLC patients (30 males, 2 females; median age 74 years, 61-85 years) were analyzed. RESULTS: Two (6.3 %) showed morbidity of grade 3 or greater, though there were no postoperative deaths. The margin local control rate was 97.0 % (surgical margin recurrence, 1) and local recurrence control rate was 75.0 % (ipsilateral thorax recurrence, 8), while the 3-YSR and 3-YRFS was 79.0 and 75.9 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: A sublobar pulmonary resection for patients unable to tolerate a lobectomy with stage I NSCLC was shown to be safe and provided results comparable with those of SBRT.