Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is more favorable than thoracotomy for administration of adjuvant chemotherapy after lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is a newly developed type of surgery for lung cancer and has been demonstrated obvious minimally-invasive advantages compared with traditional thoracotomy. Theoretically, that less trauma leads to quicker recovery and may facilitate administration of adjuvant chemotherapy. We tested this hypothesis in this study.

One hundred and ten NSCLC patients underwent lobectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy from June 2004 to June 2010 was analyzed. The baseline characteristic criteria, variables related to surgery and accomplishing status of chemotherapy were analyzed.

All 110 patients underwent lobectomy through VATS (n = 54) or thracotomy (n = 56) and adjuvant chemotherapy. There was no significant difference in patients' age, preoperative pulmonary function, co-morbidity, pathologic staging between the two groups, whereas, blood loss, operation time and postoperative complications, chest tube duration and length of stay were less in VATS group. There were no significant differences in time to initiation chemotherapy. Cases in VATS group received more cycles of chemotherapy (3.6 vs. 3.0, p = 0.002). A higher proportion of patients received full dose on schedule in VATS group (57.4% vs. 33.9%, p = 0.013) and a higher proportion of patients completed ≥75% planed dose, (88.9% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.022); slightly higher proportion of patients in thoracotomy group had grade 3 or more toxicity (20.4% vs. 35.7%, p = 0.074).

Patients underwent lobectomy by VATS have better compliance and fewer delayed or reduced dose on adjuvant chemotherapy than those by thoracotomy.