Meta-analysis of segmentectomy versus wedge resection in stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Although limited resection was once considered the surgical treatment for patients with Phase IA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there has been an ongoing controversial surgical indication for wedge resection and segmentectomy in recent years. The objective of this study was to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of segmentectomy and wedge resection for early stage NSCLC, using a meta-analysis. METHODS: Systematic research was conducted using four online databases to search for studies published before 2017. The DFS and OS for early stage NSCLC after segmentectomy and wedge resection were compared. The studies were selected according to rigorous predefined inclusion criteria, and meta-analyzed using the log (hazard ratio; ln[HR]) and its standard error (SE) calculations. RESULTS: Included in this meta-analysis were nine studies, published from 2006 to 2017, with a total of 7,272 patients. Survival outcome of segmentectomy was comparable to wedge resections for stage IA lung cancer because of OS (similar hazard ratio [HR]: 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83–1.05, P=0.26) and DFS (similar HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.60–1.09, P=0.17). Nevertheless, for stage IA NSCLC with tumor size ≤2 cm, segmentectomy was superior to wedge resection (combined HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.70–0.97, P=0.02). However, there were no significant differences in OS rates, 1.07 (95% CI: 0.78–1.46, P=0.68), between segmentectomy and wedge resection for IA NSCLC with a tumor size of ≤1 cm. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that segmentectomy could achieve better OS than wedge resection for stage IA NSCLC with a tumor size of ≤2 cm. However, surgeons could conduct segmentectomy and wedge resection for NSCLC ≤1 cm according to patient profile and the location of tumor. These results should be confirmed by further randomized clinical trials.