Survival Outcomes of Neoadjuvant Therapy Followed by Sleeve Lobectomy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of neoadjuvant therapy on long-term survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing sleeve lobectomy.

Methods: A total of 613 patients were retrospectively analyzed, including 124 who received neoadjuvant therapy. A 1:2 Propensity score matching (PSM) method was adopted to create a balanced cohort including 110 with neoadjuvant therapy and 169 without neoadjuvant therapy. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the Log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards models.

Results: Neoadjuvant therapy was associated with improved 3-year DFS (73.6% vs. 54.4%, P<0.001) and OS (80.9% vs. 63.9%, P=0.002) compared to patients without neoadjuvant therapy. Moreover, neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy significantly improved 3-year DFS (85.3% vs. 54.4%, P=0.001) and OS (88.2% vs. 63.9%, P=0.006), whereas chemotherapy alone did not show a significant effect. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that neoadjuvant therapy was an independent predictor of improved DFS and OS while pathological N2 stage was independently associated with poorer DFS and OS. Furthermore, subgroup analysis in the neoadjuvant arm revealed that pathological N2 stage was an independent risk factor for DFS (HR, 3.830; 95% CI, 1.687-8.694; P=0.001), and achieving major pathologic response (MPR) was an independent predictor for better OS (HR, 0.120; 95% CI, 0.015-0.933; P=0.043).

Conclusions: Neoadjuvant therapy prior to sleeve lobectomy significantly increased DFS and OS in locally advanced NSCLC. Sleeve lobectomy is advisable followed by neoadjuvant therapy, especially with chemoimmunotherapy.