Which definition of a central tumour is more predictive of occult mediastinal metastasis in nonsmall cell lung cancer patients with radiological N0 disease?

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend invasive mediastinal staging for centrally located tumours, even in radiological N0 nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there is no uniform definition of a central tumour that is more predictive of occult mediastinal metastasis. METHODS: A total of 1337 consecutive patients with radiological N0 disease underwent invasive mediastinal staging. Tumours were categorised into central and peripheral by seven different definitions. RESULTS: About 7% (93 out of 1337) of patients had occult N2 disease, and they had significantly larger tumour size and more solid tumours on computed tomography. After adjustment for patient- and tumour-related characteristics, only the central tumour definition of the inner one-third of the hemithorax adopted by drawing concentric lines arising from the midline significantly predicted occult N2 disease (adjusted OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.17–3.87; p=0.013). This association was maintained after excluding patients with pure ground-glass nodules (adjusted OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.37–4.71; p=0.003) or only including those with solid tumours (adjusted OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.08–4.88; p=0.030). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that a central tumour should be defined using the inner one-third of the hemithorax adopted by drawing concentric lines from the midline. This is particularly useful for predicting occult N2 disease in patients with NSCLC.