<p>Ultra-late recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer over 10 years after curative resection</p>

Abstract

Purpose Most postoperative recurrences of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) develop within 5 years after curative resection, with ultra-late recurrences developing over 10 years after the resection being rare. This study aimed to analyze the features of ultra-late recurrence in cases with NSCLC who had undergone curative resection. Patients and methods Among 1458 consecutive cases with NSCLC who underwent curative resection with systematic lymph node dissection during 1990–2006, 12 cases developed recurrence over 10 years after the resection. We defined the recurrence developing over 10 years after the resection as ultra-late recurrence and analyzed the factors related to it. Results Among the 1458 cases, recurrence developed in 476 (32.6%) cases. Of them, ultra-late recurrence developed in 12 (2.5%) cases. The ultra-late recurrence was histopathologically classified as adenocarcinoma in 11 cases and atypical carcinoid in 1 case. All cases were of invasive carcinoma. We compared ultra-late recurrence cases with non-recurrence cases and showed that none of the examined factors significantly influenced ultra-late recurrence; however, lymphatic invasion was close to significantly influencing it. There were two cases in which recurrence developed over 15 years after the resection; both cases were of adenocarcinoma with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement. Conclusion There is a possibility of ultra-late recurrence developing over 10 years after the resection of any invasive NSCLC. Lymphatic invasion is close to significantly influencing ultra-late recurrence. Furthermore, a long follow-up period may be required in cases with adenocarcinoma with ALK rearrangement because it has the possibility of recurrence over 15 years after the resection.

Conditional relative survival and competing mortality in patients who underwent surgery for lung cancer: A nationwide cohort study

“…21 In fact, most postoperative recurrence of lung cancer commonly occurs within 5 years after curative resection, and approximately 4% to 10% of patients had recurrence 5 to 10 years from resection. 23 In addition, although we were not able to obtain smoking-related information for the general population, patients with lung cancer will have notably higher tobacco exposure compared with the general population, so their risk of death from other tobacco-related conditions will be considerably greater. Overall risk of new malignancy appears to increase among survivors of lung cancer and relates strongly to tobacco exposure, with excess for most smoking-related sites such as respiratory tract (with 90% of subsequent respiratory tumors occurring in the lung), buccal cavity, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas and urinary tract.…”

“…Potential explanations include late recurrences, secondary tumors, late complications in treatment or a higher comorbidity mortality rate associated with cancer‐related risk factors 21 . In fact, most postoperative recurrence of lung cancer commonly occurs within 5 years after curative resection, and approximately 4% to 10% of patients had recurrence 5 to 10 years from resection 23 . In addition, although we were not able to obtain smoking‐related information for the general population, patients with lung cancer will have notably higher tobacco exposure compared with the general population, so their risk of death from other tobacco‐related conditions will be considerably greater.…”

Case Report: A case of ultra-late recurrence of KIF13A-RET fusion non-small cell lung cancer response to selpercatinib

“…Recurrence remains a major problem, and most postoperative recurrences of NSCLC develop within 5 years after resection. However, ultra-late recurrence developing more than 10 years after resection is extremely rare ( 1 ).…”

The miR-23a/27a/24-2 cluster promotes postoperative progression of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer

“…2 Surgery is the standard treatment for earlystage NSCLC; however, 15% of stage I and 40% of stage II NSCLC patients develop postoperative recurrence, which is the major cause of treatment failure. 3 Thus, identifying biomarkers for predicting recurrence after curative resection will be beneficial for patient care. Unfortunately, biomarkers that can accurately predict postoperative recurrence of early-stage NSCLC have not been identified and the underlying mechanisms of recurrence are still unclear.…”