Is T2 non-small cell lung cancer located in left lower lobe appropriate to upstage?

In the TNM classification, patients with T2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have heterogeneous factors. The efficacy of surgery for T2 disease remains unsatisfactory. We retrospectively reviewed 268 T2 patients with non-small cell lung cancer for whom a curative approach had been attempted between January 1994 through December 2003. All patients were subjected to lobectomy, including dissection of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes contained in pathologically proven adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. The overall survival rates at 5 and 7 years were 58.4% and 48.5%, respectively. Five-year survival of patients with a tumor in the left lower lobe (LLL) was 38.8%; other lobe, 61.6%. Primary tumor distribution in the LLL was significantly associated with a poor survival in T2 NSCLC. In univariate analysis, tumors size less than 4 cm, tumor in the left lower lobe, histological differentiation, lymph node involvement were significantly associated with prognosis. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor in the left lower lobe (P=0.0159), histological differentiation (P=0.0071), and lymph node involvement (P=0.0266) were found to be independent prognostic factors in cases of T2 disease. In cases where the primary tumor without well differentiation is in the LLL, surgery for T2 NSCLC should be considered carefully.