Objective:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of extended delay to surgery for stage I NSCLC.
Summary of Background Data:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with NSCLC may experience delays in care, and some national guidelines recommend delays in surgery by >3 months for early NSCLC.
Methods:
Using data from the National Lung Screening Trial, a multi-center randomized trial, and the National Cancer Data Base, a multi-institutional oncology registry, the impact of “early” versus “delayed” surgery (surgery received 0–30 vs 90–120 days after diagnosis) for stage I lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was assessed using multivariable Cox regression analysis with penalized smoothing spline functions and propensity score-matched analyses.
Results:
In Cox regression analysis of the National Lung Screening Trial (n = 452) and National Cancer Data Base (n = 80,086) cohorts, an increase in the hazard ratio was seen the longer surgery was delayed. In propensity score-matched analysis, no significant differences in survival were found between early and delayed surgery for stage IA1 adenocarcinoma and IA1-IA3 SCC (all P > 0.13). For stage IA2-IB adenocarcinoma and IB SCC, delayed surgery was associated with worse survival (all P < 0.004).
Conclusions:
The mortality risk associated with an extended delay to surgery differs across patient subgroups, and difficult decisions to delay care during the COVID-19 pandemic should take substage and histologic subtype into consideration.
Objective:
To evaluate the overall survival of patients with operable stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who undergo “early” SBRT (within 0–30 days after diagnosis) versus “delayed” surgery (90–120 days after diagnosis).
Summary of Background Data:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, national guidelines have recommended patients with operable stage IA NSCLC to consider delaying surgery by at least 3 months or, alternatively, to undergo SBRT without delay. It is unknown which strategy is associated with better short- and long-term outcomes.
Methods:
Multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling and propensity score-matched analysis was used to compare the overall survival of patients with stage IA NSCLC in the National Cancer Data Base from 2004 to 2015 who underwent “early” SBRT (0–30 days after diagnosis) versus that of patients who underwent “delayed” wedge resection (90–120 days after diagnosis).
Results:
During the study period, 570 (55%) patients underwent early SBRT and 475 (45%) underwent delayed wedge resection. In multivariable analysis, delayed resection was associated with improved survival [adjusted hazard ratio 0.61; (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50–0.76)]. Propensity-score matching was used to create 2 groups of 279 patients each who received early SBRT or delayed resection that were well-matched with regard to baseline characteristics. The 5-year survival associated with delayed resection was 53% (95% CI: 45%–61%) which was better than the 5-year survival associated with early SBRT (31% [95% CI: 24%–37%]).
Conclusion:
In this national analysis, for patients with stage IA NSCLC, extended delay of surgery was associated with improved survival when compared to early treatment with SBRT.
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