ObjectivesImmunological parameters and nutritional status influence the outcome of patients with malignant tumors. A prognostic nutritional index, calculated using serum albumin levels and peripheral lymphocyte count, has been used to assess prognosis for various cancers. This study aimed to investigate whether this prognostic nutritional index affects overall survival and the incidence of postoperative complications in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 409 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent complete resection between 2005 and 2007 at the Aichi Cancer Center.ResultsThe 5-year survival rates of patients with high (≥50) and low (<50) prognostic nutritional indices were 84.4% and 70.7%, respectively (p = 0.0011). Univariate analysis showed that gender, histology, pathological stage, smoking history, serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels, and prognostic nutritional index were significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis identified pathological stage and the prognostic nutritional index as independent prognostic factors. The frequency of postoperative complications tended to be higher in patients with a low prognostic nutritional index.ConclusionsThe prognostic nutritional index is an independent prognostic factor for survival of patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer.

The preoperative D-dimer level is an independent prognostic factor in patients with completely resected NSCLC.

Patients with tumours >4.0 cm showed significantly worse outcomes in RFS compared with those with smaller tumours. This relationship was also noted in patients with Stage I disease.

Patients with stage I SQ had significantly worse outcomes than patients with stage I AD. A newly defined stage grouping for SQ patients provided outcomes comparable to those of AD patients.

PET-CT is a useful modality for predicting the histologic type and tumour stage of thymic epithelial tumours.

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The newly proposed classification for thymic malignancies does not serve as a prognostic prediction model for overall survival but served as a significant imbalance of stage distribution in our cohort. However, it appears to be beneficial, especially in clinical settings and recurrence-free survival analysis.

BackgroundThe ABO blood group is reported to be associated with the incidence and patient survival for several types of malignancies. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the prognostic significance of the ABO blood group in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsA total of 333 patients (218 men and 115 women) with resected NSCLC were included in this study. In addition to age, sex, smoking status, preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, operative procedure, histology of tumors, pathological stage (p-stage), and adjuvant therapy, the association between the ABO blood group and survival was explored.ResultsThe 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 83.0% and 71.6% for blood group O, 67.2% and 62.3% for blood group A, 68.8% and 68.8% for blood group B and 69.2% and 65.3% for blood group AB, respectively. A multivariate analysis for overall survival showed the ABO blood group (group A vs. group O: HR 2.47, group AB vs. group O: HR 3.62) to be an independent significant prognostic factor, in addition to age, sex, smoking status, p-stage, and serum CEA level. A multivariate analysis for disease-free survival also showed the ABO blood group to be an independent significant prognostic factor.ConclusionsThe ABO blood group is an independent prognostic factor in patients with resected NSCLC. Studies of other larger cohorts are therefore needed to confirm the relationship between the ABO blood group and the prognosis among patients with resected NSCLC.