Lobar Lung Resection in Elderly Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma: Impact of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease on Surgical Outcome

• Published in: International surgery 2014-07, Vol.99 (4), p.319-324
• Main Author: Senbaklavaci, O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
• ISSN: 0020-8868; 2520-2456
• DOI: 10.9738/INTSURG-D-14-00015.1

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on the perioperative morbidity and mortality after lobar lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients aged 70 years and older. The medical records of 73 patients ≥70 years who underwent lobar lung resection for NSCLC from 2003 to 2013 at our department were reviewed retrospectively. There were 27 patients with a mean age of 73.6 years and mean predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) of 69.7% in the COPD group whereas remaining 46 patients (mean age = 75.6 years) in the non-COPD group had a mean predicted FEV1 of 79.1%. There were no significant differences in perioperative morbidity (4.8% in the COPD group versus 17.4% in the non-COPD group) between both groups. We had no perioperative mortality in both groups. Lobar lung resection for NSCLC seems to be a safe therapy option for elderly patients with COPD who are fulfilling the common functional criteria of operability so that radical surgery should remain the mainstay of treatment for early-stage NSCLC in this increasing subpopulation.