Impact of Positive Pleural Lavage Cytology for Each Stage of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Background Positive preresection pleural lavage cytology (PLC+) is a poor prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study evaluated the prognostic value of PLC+ for the different pathologic stages (p-stages) of NSCLC. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of all 1293 staged patients who underwent curative resection in the Shizuoka Cancer Center Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan, for NSCLC to evaluate the impact of PLC+ on survival, specifically in patients with p-stage I NSCLC. The survival rate between patients with and without PLC+ was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test for comparison. Results PLC+ was identified in 50 of the 1293 patients (3.9%) and was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P Conclusions PLC is an independent prognostic factor in early-stage NSCLC. Therefore, it may be appropriate to up-stage an NSCLC diagnosis in the presence of PLC+, especially for patients with p stage I.