Feasibility of limited resection for peripheral small-sized non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective single-center-based study

Purpose: This study aimed to establish new criteria for limited resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on computed tomography findings and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Methods: Between December 2007 and December 2015, 611 patients underwent lung cancer surgery; of these, 70 with cT1aN0M0 who underwent limited resection were enrolled. Criteria for undergoing intentional limited resection (ILR) were (1) tumor ground-glass opacity (GGO) ratio of ≥ 0.75 and (2) tumor SUVmax ≤ 1.5. Patients who met criteria (1) and (2) underwent partial resection, and those who only met criteria (2) underwent segmentectomy as ILR. The control group was subjected to limited surgery without meeting the criteria. Results: Overall, 45 and 25 patients who met the criteria were included in the ILR and control groups, respectively. In the ILR group, 13 patients underwent partial resection, and 32 underwent segmentectomy; in the control group, 18 patients underwent partial resection and 7 underwent segmentectomy. According to our criteria, no relapsed cases occurred in the ILR group, although six patients showed recurrence of lung cancer in the control group. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in the ILR and control groups were 100% and 67.7%, respectively, and the relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were 100% and 61.6%, respectively. The log-rank test showed that this difference was statistically significant (OS: P < 0.0001, RFS: P < 0.0001). Conclusions: SUVmax may serve as a predictive marker of recurrence to determine the treatment strategy for patients with NSCLC. Patients with low GGO ratio and low SUVmax may be cured by limited resection.