Characteristics and risk factors of recurrence in clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing anatomic segmentectomy

Objective Although lobectomy is the standard surgical procedure for small-sized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), segmentectomy has been performed for various reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of and risk factors for recurrence in early-stage NSCLC patients undergoing segmentectomy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 179 patients with clinical stage I NSCLC who underwent segmentectomy. Preoperative factors were analyzed using the log-rank test for univariate analyses. Multivariate analyses were performed using a Cox proportional hazards regression model to identify independent risk factors for recurrence. For the significant factors, optimal cutoff points were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results During the follow-up period of 51 months, 18 patients developed recurrence; 5 had locoregional (including 2 with margin recurrences only), 9 had distant, and 4 had both locoregional and distant recurrence. Multivariate and ROC analysis identified radiologic solid tumor size with a cutoff point of 1.5 cm as an independent risk factor for recurrence. Three patients in the solid size < 1.5 cm group ( n = 119) developed recurrence, 2 of whom had surgical margin recurrence, compared to 15 patients in the solid size ≥ 1.5 cm group ( n = 60). Conclusions The indication for segmentectomy should be decided upon with caution, and the segments to be resected should be carefully considered to secure an appropriate surgical margin in this low-risk subgroup of patients because they may have a relatively higher risk of surgical margin recurrence, despite being at decreased risk.