Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Apr;45(4):660-4.
doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezt462. Epub 2013 Sep 19.

Predicted postoperative lung function is associated with all-cause long-term mortality after major lung resection for cancer

Mark K Ferguson  1 , Sydeaka Watson, Elizabeth Johnson, Wickii T Vigneswaran
Affiliations

Predicted postoperative lung function is associated with all-cause long-term mortality after major lung resection for cancer

Mark K Ferguson et al. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: Preoperative lung function is an independent predictor of long-term survival after lung resection for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The extent of resection has an impact on operative mortality, determines postoperative lung function and may influence both overall- and cancer-specific survival. We sought to determine the impact of predicted postoperative (ppo) lung function on long-term survival after lung cancer resection.

Methods: We previously reported long-term survival analyses for patients who underwent major lung resection for NSCLC 1980-2006. For this study, we calculated ppo spirometry (forced expiratory volume in the first second, FEV1) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) in the same cohort using the functional segment technique or quantitative perfusion scans when available, and updated survival data; missing data were imputed. We assessed the relationship of ppoFEV1 and ppoDLCO to long-term survival using Cox regression.

Results: Of 854 patients, 471 (55%) were men, the mean age was 63 years and median survival was 42 months. At the time of analysis, 70% of patients had died. On regression analysis, all-cause mortality was related to age, stage, performance status, renal function and prior myocardial infarction. Preoperative lung function was marginally associated with mortality [DLCO (10-percentage point decrease): HR (hazard ratio) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.00-1.08, P = 0.056; FEV1 (10-percentage point decrease): HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.09, P = 0.067]. In contrast, ppo lung function was strongly associated with mortality (ppoDLCO: HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12, P = 0.024; ppoFEV1: HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12, P = 0.031).

Conclusions: Ppo lung function is strongly associated with long-term survival after major lung resection and is more strongly related to survival than preoperative lung function. Surgeons struggle with challenging decisions about the appropriate extent of resection for early-stage cancer, balancing factors such as operative morbidity/mortality, local recurrence and postoperative quality of life. Ppo lung function and its relation to survival also should be taken into consideration during such deliberations.

Keywords: Lung cancer; Lung resection; Predicted postoperative function; Survival.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Survival curves after lung resection for cancer according to ppoFEV1% category (log-rank P < 0.001).
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Survival curves after resection for lung cancer according to ppoDLCO% category (log-rank P < 0.001).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shavelle RM, Paculdo DR, Kush SJ, Mannino DM, Strauss DJ. Life expectancy and years of life lost in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: findings from the NHANES III follow-up study. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2009;4:137–48. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sekine Y, Behnia M, Fujisawa T. Impact of COPD on pulmonary complications and on long-term survival of patients undergoing surgery for NSCLC. Lung Cancer. 2002;37:95–101. - PubMed
    1. Ploeg AJ, Kappetein AP, van Tongeren RB, Pahlplatz PV, Kastelein GW, Breslau PJ. Factors associated with perioperative complications and long-term results after pulmonary resection for primary carcinoma of the lung. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2003;23:26–9. - PubMed
    1. Liptay MJ, Basu S, Hoaglin MC, Freedman N, Faber LP, Warren WH, et al. Diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival after curative lung resection for cancer. J Surg Oncol. 2009;100:703–7. - PubMed
    1. Ferguson MK, Dignam JJ, Siddique J, Vigneswaran WT, Celauro AD. Diffusing capacity predicts long-term survival after lung resection for cancer. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2012;41:e81–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types