Abstract
Background: Lobectomy plus lymph node dissection is the standard treatment of early-stage lung cancer, but the low lymph node metastasis rate with ground-glass opacity (GGO) makes surgeons not perform lymphadenectomy. This study aimed to re-evaluate the lymph node metastasis rate of GGO to help make a clinical judgment. Methods: We performed this retrospective study to enroll patients who received lung cancer surgery from 2011 to 2016. Patient characteristics collected included tumor size, solid part size and lymph node metastasis rate. These patients were categorized into pure GGO and part solid GGO groups to undergo analysis. Results: Lymph node metastasis rates were 0%, 3.8% and 6.9% in order of the pure GGO group, the GGO predominant group and the solid predominant group. In the lobectomy patients, the solid predominant group still showed to have the highest lymph node metastasis rate and recurrence rate (8.3% and 10.1%). Conclusion: It is unnecessary to perform lymphadenectomy for patients with pure GGO in view of the 0% lymph node metastasis rate. The higher lymph node metastasis rate in the patients with the solid predominant group, 6.9%, suggested that surgeons should choose a rational lymphadenectomy method according to their GGO property and clinical judgment.
Highlights
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer all over the world and in Taiwan, and is characteristic of high mortality due to early metastasis and delayed diagnosis [1]
Tobacco use and family history are the possible risk factors of lung cancer [1,2]. People exposed to these risk factors can benefit from lung cancer screening with chest computed tomography (CT) [2,3]
A nodule may appear on low-dose chest CT as a ground-glass opacity (GGO) having less invasive components
Summary
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer all over the world and in Taiwan, and is characteristic of high mortality due to early metastasis and delayed diagnosis [1]. Lobectomy plus lymph node dissection is the standard treatment of early-stage lung cancer, but the low lymph node metastasis rate with ground-glass opacity (GGO) makes surgeons not perform lymphadenectomy. Patient characteristics collected included tumor size, solid part size and lymph node metastasis rate. These patients were categorized into pure GGO and part solid GGO groups to undergo analysis. Conclusion: It is unnecessary to perform lymphadenectomy for patients with pure GGO in view of the 0% lymph node metastasis rate. The higher lymph node metastasis rate in the patients with the solid predominant group, 6.9%, suggested that surgeons should choose a rational lymphadenectomy method according to their GGO property and clinical judgment
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