LIMITED EXERESIS FOR THE TREATMENT OF STA GE-I LUNG-CANCER - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN 63 PATIENTS

Limited resection techniques such as wedge resection or segmental rese ction are occasionally used for the curative treatment of stage I lung cancer, usually in high-risk patients. In this study, the reasons for performing limited resection and the outcomes of the procedure (posto perative complications, recurrence rate, and survival rate) were evalu ated retrospectively in 63 patients who were treated in various surger y departments in the Paris area between 1980 and 1986. The postoperati ve mortality rate was 3.1 %. The five-year survival rate was 42 % and was not significantly influenced by the surgical technique or by the s ize of the tumor. The five-year local recurrence rate was 46 %, with n o significant difference between T1 and T2 tumors. Among patients with T2 tumors, those who underwent wedge resection had higher five-year r ecurrence rates than those who underwent segmental resection (p = 0.03 ). Wedge resection should not be used to treat T2N0 lung cancers.