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Vol.38 No.1 contents | Japanese/English |
- Case Report -
N3 Lung Cancer Cases Treated by Extended Lymphadenectomy and Perioperative Adjuvant Therapy
Makoto Suzuki, Hideki Kimura, Naomichi Iwai, Yosiyuki Takahasi and Takehiko Fujisawa*Division of Thoracic Disease, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan, *Department of Surgery, Institute of Pulmonary Cancer Research, Chiba University School of Medicine
N3 disease in lung cancer is usually unresectable, and prognosis is extremely poor. Five clinical N3 cases with good performance status were treated by extended lymphadenectomy and pre-or-post surgical adjuvant therapy in our hospital from January, 1994 to March, 1996. Induction chemotherapy was performed for three cases, and extended bilateral mediastinal dissection up to the neck was applied in all cases. Post-surgical local chemo-and/or-immunotherapy was added in four cases. Two patients are still alive and tumor-free 22 months after the initiation of treatment. Three patients died because of distant metastases 34, 19, and 18 months after the therapy. In conclusion, bilateral extended lymphadenectomy combined with pre-and/or post surgical adjuvant therapy may be beneficial for patients with N3 disease and contribute to improved better prognosis.
key words: Lung cancer, N3, Induction chemotherapy, Extended mediastinal dissection, Adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy
Received: October 13, 1997
Accepted: November 21, 1997
JJLC 38 (1): 49-55, 1998
