Evaluation of Postoperative Radiotherapy Effect on Survival of Resected Stage III-N2 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Objective: The role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in resected stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the effect of PORT on survival of resected stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC patients. Methods: Resected stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC patients aged 18 years or older were identified from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database from 2010 to 2015. Cox regression analysis was used to identify factors including PORT associated with survival time. A subgroup analysis of patients stratified by number of lymph node metastases was also performed. Overall survival (OS) and overall mortality were compared among the different groups. Results: A total of 3,445 patients were included in the study. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that PORT had no significant impact on survival of patients with