This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sakuraba, M. Articles by Sakao, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sakuraba, M. Articles by Sakao, Y. Related Collections Lung - cancer

Video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy vs. conventional lobectomy via open thoracotomy in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma

Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-1 Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-3-3813-3111; fax: +81-3-5800-0281.

E-mail address: m-skrb{at}med.juntendo.ac.jp (M. Sakuraba).

The aim of this study was to evaluate our personal experience with video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and compare survival between this procedure and conventional lobectomy via open thoracotomy in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma. Between May 1997 and December 2004, 140 patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma had either VATS lobectomy (VATS group, 84 patients) or standard lobectomy via open thoracotomy (open group, 56 patients) performed in our hospital. We compared overall survival, disease-free survival and recurrence between the two groups. The overall survival rate five years after surgery was 72% in the open group and 82% in the VATS group. There were no significant differences in the overall survival rate between the two groups. The disease-free survival rate five years after surgery was 68% in the open group and 80% in the VATS group. There were no significant differences in the disease-free survival rate between the two groups. Five patients in the open group developed distant recurrence, whereas one patient developed regional recurrence. In the VATS group six patients developed distant recurrence, whereas one patient developed regional recurrence. We consider VATS lobectomy to be one of the therapeutic options in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Key Words: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery; Conventional lobectomy via open thoracotomy; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Lobectomy; Survival