The outcomes of margin status after sleeve lobectomy for patients of non–small cell lung cancer

Background Sleeve lobectomy is recognized as an alternative surgical operation to pneumonectomy because it preserves the most pulmonary function and has a considerable prognosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the implications of residual status for patients after sleeve lobectomy. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we summarized 58 242 patients who underwent surgeries from 2015 to 2018 in Shanghai Chest Hospital and found 456 eligible patients meeting the criteria. The status of R2 was excluded. The outcomes were overall survival (OS) and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). We performed a subgroup analysis to further our investigation. Results After the propensity score match, the baseline characteristic was balanced between two groups. The survival analysis showed no significant difference of overall survival and recurrence‐free survival between R0 and R1 groups (OS: p = 0.053; RFS: p = 0.14). In the multivariate Cox analysis, we found that the margin status was not a dependent risk factor to RFS (p = 0.119) and OS (p = 0.093). In the patients of R1, N stage and age were closely related to OS, but we did not find any significant risk variable in RFS for R1 status. In the subgroup analysis, R1 status may have a worse prognosis on patients with more lymph nodes examination. On further investigation, we demonstrated no differences among the four histological types of margin status. Conclusion In our study, we confirmed that the margin status after sleeve lobectomies was not the risk factor to prognosis. However, patients with more lymph nodes resection should pay attention to the margin status. Sleeve lobectomy is recognized as an alternative surgical operation to pneumonectomy because it preserves the most pulmonary function and has a considerable prognosis. A positive margin is inevitable during the surgery sometimes. In our study, we confirmed that the margin status after sleeve lobectomies was not the risk factor to prognosis.