Clinical characteristics and prognosis of large cell lung cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The aim of this study was to explore the clinical characteristics and analyze the prognostic factors of large cell lung cancer (LCLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 111 LCLC cases were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 111 cases, the lesions were in the right lung of 53 patients and 26 of them were located in the superior lobe. The lesions were in the left lung of 58 cases, and 35 of them were in the superior lobe. The lesions were presented as central in 36 cases and peripheral in 75 cases, with a mean diameter of 5.3 cm. All the 111 patients were diagnosed as stage I in 38 cases, stage II in 11 cases, stage III in 45 and stage IV in 17 cases. 60 patients had lymph node metastasis and 17 cases had distant metastasis. The overall 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of the LCLC were 54.7%, 30.9% and 20.6%, respectively. Cox univariate analysis revealed that TNM stage (P = 0.000), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.000) and M stage (P = 0.000) are prognostic factors. Cox multivariate analysis indicated that TNM stage (P = 0.000) is an independent prognostic factor.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prognosis of LCLC is worse than other types of non-small cell lung cancer. Complete surgical resection remains the main therapeutic approach. TNM stage is an independent prognostic factor.</p>