Background : Induction chemotherapy before surgical resection increases survival compared with surgical resection alone in patients with stage IIIA-N2 non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We hypothesized that, following a response to induction chemotherapy, surgical resection would be superior to thoracic radiotherapy as locoregional therapy. Methods : Selected patients with histologic or cytologic proven stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC were given three cycles of platinum- based induction chemotherapy. Responding patients were subsequently randomly assigned to surgical resection or radiotherapy. Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan–Meier analyses from time of randomization. Results : Induction chemotherapy resulted in a response rate of 61% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 57% to 65%) among the 579 eligible patients. A total of 167 patients were allocated to resection and 165 to radiotherapy. Of the 154 (92%) patients who underwent surgery, 14% had an exploratory thoracotomy, 50% a radical resection, 42% a pathologic downstaging, and 5% a pathologic complete response; 4% died after surgery. Postoperative radiotherapy was administered to 62 (40%) of patients in the surgery arm. Among the 154 (93%) irradiated patients, overall compliance to the radiotherapy prescription was 55%, and grade 3/4 acute and late esophageal and pulmonary toxic effects occurred in 4% and 7%; one patient died of radiation pneumonitis. Median and 5-year overall survival for patients randomly assigned to resection versus radiotherapy were 16.4 versus 17.5 months and 15.7% versus 14%, respectively (hazard ratio = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.84 to 1.35). Rates of progression-free survival were also similar in both groups. Conclusion : In selected patients with pathologically proven stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC and a response to induction chemotherapy, surgical resection did not improve overall or progression-free survival compared with radiother- apy. In view of its low morbidity and mortality, radiotherapy should be considered the preferred locoregional treatment for these patients.
van Meerbeeck, Jan P. ; Kramer, Gijs w.P.M. ; Van Schil, Paul E. Y. ; Legrand, Catherine ; Smit, Egbert F. ; et. al. Randomized Controlled Trial of Resection Versus Radiotherapy After Induction Chemotherapy in Stage IIIA-N2 Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer. In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 99, no.6, p. 442-450 (March 2007)