Postoperative complications and prognosis after lobar resection versus sublobar resection in elderly patients with clinical Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the outcomes of sublobar resection in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS: A total of 205 patients aged ≥75 years were identified from 794 consecutive patients who underwent complete surgical resection for clinical Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. The outcomes of lobectomy and sublobar resection were compared. Propensity scores were estimated for multivariable analyses and matching. RESULTS: Sublobar resection (n = 99) was more frequently performed than lobectomy (n = 106) in older patients (P = 0.027) and those with lower maximum standardized uptake on positron emission tomography (P < 0.001), lower T stage (P < 0.001), lower %vital capacity (P = 0.007) and lower %diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (P = 0.025). Severe (≥Grade IIIa) postoperative complications occurred more frequently with lobectomy (11 of 106 procedures, 10.4%) than with sublobar resection (5 of 99, 5.1%; P = 0.16). In propensity score-adjusted multivariable analysis, lobectomy was an independent predictive factor for severe postoperative complications (odds ratio 3.49, 95% confidence interval 1.01-12.05; P = 0.048). Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different following lobectomy (5-year OS 67.2%) or sublobar resection (5-year OS 73.9%; P = 0.93). In multivariable analysis, the surgical procedure was not an independent predictive factor for OS (lobectomy: hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.49-2.16; P = 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Sublobar resection may be the optimal procedure in elderly patients with clinical Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer and is associated with less severe postoperative complications than lobectomy and similar OS.