Lymphatic vessel invasion and lymph node metastasis in patients with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the presence of lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) in primary tumors and lymph node (LN) metastasis in clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 76 patients who underwent complete resection for clinical stage I adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively examined.

RESULTS: Tumors consisted of 51 cases of adenocarcinoma and 25 cases of squamous cell carcinoma as determined by histology. LN metastasis was detected in 24.4% (19/76) of patients. Factors associated with LN metastasis on univariate analysis included LVI (p < 0.001) and increased tumor dimensions (p < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of LVI (p < 0.001) was the only predictor of LN metastasis.

CONCLUSION: LVI is significantly associated with LN metastasis in patients with clinical stage I NSCLC. These findings may be helpful in determining the most appropriate operative strategy for patients if preoperative detection of LVI becomes feasible.