Post-treatment Surveillance for Stage I and II Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Impact on Clinical Outcome

Background/Aim: Patients treated for earlystage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) need post-treatment surveillance for detecting recurrence of disease. The aim of this study was to provide evidence for the appropriate follow-up. Patients and Methods: The overall survival (OS), 1- and 3-year survival and progression-free survival (PFS) were retrospectively compared between two imaging modality groups. One group received only chest radiographs (CR group) and one group received chest radiographs and at least one computed tomography scan (CT group). Results: Patients in the CR group (n=50) had no inferior OS (hazard ratio (HR)=1.427, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.755-2.695, p=0.273) and PFS (HR=1.156, 95% CI=0.645-2.069, p=0.627) compared to patients in the CT group (n=23). Both 1-and 3-year survival were equal in the two groups (HR=5.544, 95% CI=0.530-58.031, p=0.153 and HR=1.540, 95% CI=0.752-3.154, p=0.238, respectively). Conclusion: Follow-up with a chest radiography did not result in inferior clinical outcomes compared to follow-up with a CT scan.