Has the paradigm changed away from lobectomy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)? Anatomic segmentectomy: Surgery’s answer to image-guided ablation/radiation therapy for the small peripheral lung lesion.

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7577 Background: Lobectomy has been the “gold standard” for stage I NSCLC management. Image guided ablation/radiation therapy approaches are now being touted as alternatives to surgery despite concerns regarding diagnosis, pathologic staging, local control, and delayed toxicities. We evaluated the diagnostic utility and oncologic efficacy of lung sparing, anatomic segmentectomy for indeterminate pulmonary nodules and clinical stage I NSCLC. Methods: Retrospective review of 1,005 anatomic segmentectomies from 2002-2012 for indeterminate pulmonary nodules and clinical stage I NSCLC. Outcome variables included perioperative data, morbidity and mortality. Survival was assessed with the Kaplan-Maier method. Results: Mean age was 66.7 years. Median lesion size was 1.9 cm. VATS was employed in 62.8% of cases. Median operative time and blood loss was 112 minutes and 80 ml, respectively. Median hospital stay was 5 days. Major complications occurred in 12.7%. Thirty-day mortality was 1.0%. Of these, NSCLC was identified in 71.6%, metastases in 8.7%, and other benign conditions in 19.7%. Among patients with clinical stage I NSCLC, clinical: pathological upstaging was seen in 34.5%. Local recurrence rate was 5.2% and five-year freedom from any recurrence was 69%, equivalent to lobectomy in our experience. Conclusions: Anatomic segmentectomy is a valuable primary surgical approach today. In this era of competing image-guided ablation modalities, anatomic segmentectomy provides safety, diagnostic accuracy and adherence to oncologic surgical principles including completeness of resection with adequate surgical margins, systematic nodal staging improving pathologic accuracy, and tissue for pharmacogenomic assessment to guide individualized adjuvant therapy.