Risk factors for local recurrence after lobectomy and lymph node dissection in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: Implications for adjuvant therapy

•We investigated risk factors for local recurrence in NSCLC patients with lobectomy.•In NSCLC patients, curative action is difficult once local recurrence occurs.•The most significant risk factor for local recurrence is lymph node metastasis.•N2 patients with N1 involvement are at particularly high risk of local recurrence.•Adjuvant chemotherapy is crucial for local control following lymph node metastasis. The objective of this study was to investigate clinicopathological risk factors for local recurrence in patients who underwent either complete resection with lobectomy or more extensive resection with hilar and mediastinal lymph node dissection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The role of adjuvant therapy was also explored. We reviewed the records of 1012 consecutive stage I–III NSCLC patients who underwent complete resection. The median follow-up time was 59 months. The risk factors for local recurrence were investigated by multivariate analysis using Cox’s proportional hazards regression model. Local recurrence was identified in 9.4% of the patients. The most significant risk factor for local recurrence was lymph node metastasis (N1: hazard ratio [HR]=2.27, p=0.009; N2: HR=6.85, p