Significance of Pulmonary Artery Dilatation in Lung Cancer Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Who Underwent Pulmonary Resection

Background

The significance of pulmonary artery (PA) diameter in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undergo pulmonary resection has not been elucidated.

Methods

Data of 357 patients with NSCLC and COPD who underwent pulmonary resection were retrospectively reviewed. The main PA diameter, determined by preoperative computed tomography, relative to the body surface area (PBR), was used as an index of PA dilatation, and patients were divided into 2 groups using median values. The relationship between the PBR and short- and long-term outcomes was also analyzed.

Results

The mean age was 70.8 years, and 82% of the patients were men. The median main PA diameter was 24 mm (range, 17-43 mm), and the median PBR was 14.5 (range, 10.4-28.6). Lobectomy or more was performed in 276 patients (78%) and sublobar resection in 81 patients (22%). The postoperative complication rates did not differ between the low- and high-PBR groups (33% vs 32%, P = .91). The relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of the low-PBR group were significantly better than those of the high-PBR group (5-year RFS: 76% vs 59%, P = .0003; 5-year OS: 88% vs 72%, P = .0010). A multivariable analysis identified high PBR as a poor prognostic factor for both RFS and OS.

Conclusions

PA dilatation was associated with poor long-term outcomes and was an independent poor prognostic factor for both RFS and OS in NSCLC patients with COPD who underwent pulmonary resection.