Early outcomes of radical surgery in non-small-cell lung cancer patients with and without COVID-19 history: a multi-center real-world study.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 can lead to chronic lung damage and respiratory issues, potentially increasing surgical difficulty and risk for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the impacts of a COVID-19 history on early outcomes in NSCLC patients remain controversial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 history on early outcomes in NSCLC patients and identify high-risk groups undergoing radical resection based on the largest Chinese multi-center real-world data to date.

Design: Multi-center retrospective cohort study.

Methods: NSCLC patients with (POCVD group) or without (NCVD group) a history of COVID-19 who underwent radical surgery at six institutions from January 2022 to January 2024 were retrospectively reviewed from a prospectively maintained database. Propensity-score matching (PSM) was utilized to minimize patient selection bias.

Results: Out of 7932 cases included, PSM resulted in 3021 cases per group. The two groups were comparable regarding the proportion of male patients (52.0% vs 51.6%) and those aged ⩾70 years (13.3% vs 13.8%). Although the two groups had comparable incidences of complications with Clavien-Dindo grades ⩾II (13.0% vs 14.4%, p = 0.117), the POCVD group had longer surgical durations (120.87 ± 40.23 min vs 110.74 ± 38.76 min, mean difference (95% confidence interval (CI) = 10.13 (8.138-12.122)) and higher rates of respiratory complications than the NCVD group. Subgroup logistic regression analysis indicated that patients aged ⩾70 years (odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) = 1.322 (1.022-1.876)) and those with a smoking history (OR (95% CI) = 1.235 (1.008-1.543)) had an increased risk of developing complications with Clavien-Dindo grades ⩾II. Further analysis confirmed that these high-risk patients experienced extended surgical durations, longer chest tube drainage, and prolonged postoperative hospital stay, along with increased postoperative respiratory complications following COVID-19.

Conclusion: Generally, radical resection is safe for NSCLC patients with a COVID-19 history. However, these patients experienced prolonged surgical durations and a higher incidence of postoperative respiratory complications compared to those without a COVID-19 history. In addition, individuals aged ⩾70 years or with a smoking history faced elevated surgical risks following COVID-19.