We conducted a retrospective study of all patients who were treated for LCNEC in our Department of Thoracic Surgery between May 2005 and December 2013. Primary outcomes of interest were patient survival and prognostic factors. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to determine the significant predictors of overall survival.
Within the prescribed period, 127 patients were treated for LCNEC, and 125 underwent surgical resection with curative intent. Induction chemotherapy or radiochemotherapy was given to 9 patients, and 63 patients received postoperative chemotherapy. Complete resection was achieved in 99.2%. The overall 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 83.7%, 63.2%, and 53.8% of all patients, and the 5-year survival in patients at stages I, II, and III was 64.5%, 40%, and 29.7%. There was a significant survival difference at 5 years between pT1/2 (58.5%) and pT3 tumors (22.4%; p = 0.043) and for patients with lymphatic involvement (L0 vs L1, p = 0.001; pN1 or pN2 vs pN0, p = 0.04).
Surgical treatment can achieve satisfactory results in early tumor stages, which are comparable with other non-small cell lung cancers, with a low perioperative mortality rate.