Sleeve lobectomy versus pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis

AIM: It is controversial that whether sleeve lobectomy (SL) should be promoted more worthy than pneumonectomy (PN) in suitable patients. METHODS: We searched all studies that had been published in English from PUBMED and Embase which compared the short-term and long-term outcomes of SL and pneumonectomy (PN) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RESULTS: Nineteen studies met our criteria with a combined total of 3878 subjects, of which 1316 (33.9%) underwent SL and 2562 (66.1%) underwent PN. The odds ratio was 0.50 (95% CI: 0.34-0.72) for postoperative mortality, 1.17 (95% CI: 0.82-1.67) for postoperative complications, 0.78 (95% CI: 0.47-1.29) for locoregional recurrences. The risk difference for 1-, 3-, 5- year was 0.11 (95% CI: 0.07-0.14), 0.15 (95% CI: 0.06-0.24), 0.15 (95% CI: 0.09-0.20),respectively. The pooled hazard ratio was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.56-0.71) in favor of SL group. CONCLUSION: SL is more worthy to be done than PN in suitable patients with less mortality and better long-term survival.