Feasibility and long-term efficacy of video-assisted thoracic surgery for unexpected pathologic N2 disease in non-small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: This study compares early and late outcomes for treatment by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) versus treatment by thoracotomy for clinical N0, but post-operatively unexpected, pathologic N2 disease (cN0-pN2). METHODS: Clinical records of patients with unexpected N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent VATS were retrospectively reviewed, and their early and late outcomes were compared to those of patients undergoing conventional thoracotomy during the same period. RESULTS: VATS lobectomy took a longer time than thoracotomy (P < 0.001), but removal of thoracic drainage and patient discharge were earlier for patients in the VATS group (P < 0.001). There was no difference in lymph node dissection, mortality and morbidity between the two groups (P > 0.05). The median follow-up time for 287 patients (89.7%) was 37.0 months (range: 7.0-69.0). The VATS group had a longer survival time than for the thoracotomy group (median 49.0 months vs. 31.7 months, P < 0.001). The increased survival time of the VATS group was due to patients with a single station of N2 metastasis (P = 0.001), rather than to patients with multiple stations of N2 metastasis (P = 0.225). CONCLUSIONS: It is both feasible and safe to perform VATS lobectomy on patients with unexpected N2 NSCLC. VATS provides better survival rates for those patients with just one station of metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes.