Clinical benefit of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for the avoidance of pneumonectomy; assessment in 12 consecutive centrally located non-small cell lung cancers.

BACKGROUND: Considering that pneumonectomy itself is a disease, avoidance of pneumonectomy needs to be deliberated. Herein, we evaluated the role of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for avoidance of pneumonectomy in patients with centrally located locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS: Patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy after being judged to require pneumonectomy by cancer board between 1997 and 2011 were retrospectively evaluated.

RESULTS: Twelve patients, including 10 males and 2 females with median age 63.5 years, were referred. Clinical stage was IB (1 patient), IIB (2 patients), IIIA (8 patients), and IIIB (1 patient). There were no disease progression after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and all patients underwent curative resection. For 8 patients, pneumonectomy was avoided, with 3 bronchoplasties and 3 pulmonary arterial angioplasties. We had 4 pneumonectomies: three cases of metastatic enlarged lymph nodes invading either the carina or a more central portion of the pulmonary artery than the left A3 branch or vein which needs incision of the inner pericardium and 1 case with a tumor involving the upper lobe bronchus to the inferior lobe bronchus. There were no postoperative deaths and 1 case of bronchopleural fistula. The 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were 55.6 and 72.7% without stump or anastomotic recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for centrally located NSCLC appeared to be a useful treatment option for avoiding pneumonectomy without impairing curability and safety, especially in highly selected cases without invasion to carina or right-or-left main trunk of pulmonary artery or vein at pretreatment.