Purpose: the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of atelectasis (AT) on overall survival of patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: the study included patients of both sexes with unresectable stage III and IV NSCLC with good performance status (PS) (ECOG ≤ 2). Patients were divided into two groups: with AT (AT+) and without AT (AT-): Factors analyzed included sex, age, histologic type, ECOG performance status, stage of disease and treatment modality. Overall survival was estimated according to Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate analysis was used to identify independent prognostic factors.
Results: we evaluated 247 patients (83% males and 17% females); 47/247 (19%) of patients belonged to AT+ group. In this group 21% of patients had stage IIIA, 46% IIIB stage, and 33% IV stage. Overall survival was significantly longer in the AT+ group (15.23 vs. 9.03 months, p=0.001). AT+ patients in stages III and IV had significantly longer overall survival than AT- patients in the same stages (p=0.001, p=0.002, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that atelectasis (p=0.001), stage of disease (p=0.001), and treatment modality (p=0.005) were independent prognostic factors associated with survival.
Conclusion: atelectasis is favorable prognostic factor concerning overall survival in patients with NSCLC.