Prognostic factors in pathological stage IB nonsmall cell lung cancer greater than 3 cm

Significant heterogenity of stage IB (sixth edition of the TNM staging system) nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been identified, and further subclassification according to tumour size has been proposed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic factors in patients with resected stage IB NSCLC >3 cm. From January 1980 to December 2000, 525 patients underwent surgical resection for stage IB NSCLC >3 cm at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. The clinicopathological characteristics of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. The 5- and 10-yr overall survival rates were 44.9% and 27.3%, respectively. Age (p<0.001), tumour size (p=0.002), extent of pulmonary resection (p=0.002), histological type (p=0.005) and number of mediastinal lymph nodes dissected/sampled (p=0.004) were significant predictors for overall survival in multivariate analysis. Patients with tumour size >7 cm, or >5 to <= 7 cm, had a worse survival than those with tumour size >3 to <= 5 cm. However, visceral pleural invasion did not influence overall survival. Stage IB NSCLC with a diameter >3 cm may be subclassified according to tumour size regardless of visceral pleural invasion.