The impact on survival of positive intraoperative pleural lavage cytology in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer

Aokage, Keiju; Yoshida, Junji; Ishii, Genichiro; Enatsu, Sotarou; Hishida, Tomoyuki; Nishimura, Mitsuyo; Nishiwaki, Yutaka; Nagai, Kanji

doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2009.07.049

« Previous Next »The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
Volume 139, Issue 5 , Pages 1246-1252.e1, May 2010

The impact on survival of positive intraoperative pleural lavage cytology in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer

Keiju Aokage, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Junji Yoshida, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
- Address for reprints: Junji Yoshida, MD, PhD, Division of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8577, Japan.
Genichiro Ishii, MD
- Pathology Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Sotarou Enatsu, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Tomoyuki Hishida, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Mitsuyo Nishimura, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Yutaka Nishiwaki, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Kanji Nagai, MD
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan

Received 23 October 2008; received in revised form 9 June 2009; accepted 16 July 2009. published online 18 September 2009.

Objective

The aim of this study was to analyze intraoperative pleural lavage cytology results in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer and quantify the impact on survival and recurrence.

Methods

From August 1992 through November 2006, pleural lavage cytology results before and after lung resection were both available in 2178 patients with non–small-cell lung cancer. We assessed the pre–pleural lavage cytology impact on survival, comparing with 9 factors available before lung resection by multivariate analyses. We also compared the impact with that of pleural dissemination or malignant pleural effusion. For post–pleural lavage cytology, we analyzed its survival impact in relation with 15 clinicopathologic factors, including those available after resection, by multivariate analyses.

Results

Pre–pleural lavage cytology proved to be a strong independent prognostic factor, but the 5-year survival rate was 37% in 65 patients without dissemination but with a positive pre–pleural lavage cytology, which was significantly higher than 12% in 86 patients with dissemination. When factors available after resection were combined, post–pleural lavage cytology showed a stronger survival impact than pre–pleural lavage cytology. Post–pleural lavage cytology was also a strong predictor of recurrence. The positive post–pleural lavage cytology group had a marginally, but not significantly, better survival compared with the malignant pleural effusion group. Almost all patients with positive post–pleural lavage cytology relapsed within 5 years.

Conclusions

Pre–pleural lavage cytology is of less use in clinical practice. Post–pleural lavage cytology was a very strong independent prognostic factor, and almost all patients with positive post–pleural lavage cytology relapsed within 5 years. We propose that positive post–pleural lavage cytology disease should be classified to pathologic T4 and managed similarly to dissemination.

CTSNet classification: 10

Abbreviations and Acronyms: CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen, NSCLC, non–small-cell lung cancer, PLC, pleural lavage cytology