Impact of the introduction of thoracoscopic lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis

Baokground: The present study evaluated the impact of the introduction of thoracoscopic lung lobectomy (TL) for non-small cell lung cancer at our institution. Methods: This study retrospectively compared surgical and oncological outcomes in the period before and after the introduction of TL for non-small cell lung cancer. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed with respect to baseline patient variables and tumor characteristics. Results: Patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent lung lobectomy in the period before (BI group, n=261) and after (AI group, n=261) the introduction of TL. The proportion of TLs at our institution increased from 1.3% in the BI group to 93% in the AI group. The AI group experienced a longer duration of surgery, lesser intraoperative blood loss, and a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay (POHS). There were no significant differences in postoperative complications between the two groups. The median follow-up period was 50 months in both groups. No significant differences were observed between the B1 and AI groups with respect to 5-year overall survival (OS) (76.1% and 71.7%, respectively; P=0.1973) and disease-free survival (DES) (67.6% and 66.1%, respectively; P=0.4071). On multivariate analysis, pathological N1-2 status was an independent predictor of survival. AI group and TL, showed no independent association with survival. Conclusions: The introduction of TL represented a positive change at our institution owing to decreased invasiveness and oncological equivalence of the surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.