Long-term pulmonary function after surgery for lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: Many patients with lung cancer have been cured by surgical intervention. However, the long-term effects of lung resection on pulmonary function are unclear. Therefore, we investigated long-term pulmonary function after surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent surgery for lung cancer between 2001 and 2009. A total of 445 patients who had survived more than 5 years since the surgery were included. The patients were divided into lobectomy, segmentectomy and partial resection groups. The time-dependent changes in pulmonary function were investigated. RESULTS: The percentages of the vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ) at postoperative year (POY) 1 vs preoperative values were 92.9 ± 11.1% and 91.3 ± 13.0% in the lobectomy group, 95.9 ± 9.0% and 93.8 ± 10.5% in the segmentectomy group and 97.8 ± 7.3% and 98.1 ± 8.3% in the partial resection group, respectively. The values in the lobectomy group were significantly lower than those in the segmentectomy and partial resection groups. The percentages of vital capacity and FEV 1 at POY 5 vs preoperative values were 90.0 ± 11.5% and 86.2 ± 11.9% in the lobectomy group, 93.4 ± 9.8% and 91.1 ± 9.8% in the segmentectomy group and 94.3 ± 8.8% and 94.0 ± 8.0% in the partial resection group, respectively. The decrease in the rates from POY 1 to POY 5 were not significantly different among the procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary function declined with pulmonary resection. After the patient recovered from the operation, pulmonary function decreased with time regardless of the surgical procedure.