Abstract

The aims of this study were to reveal the prognostic factors of cN2- pN2 and to define the criteria to select appropriate surgical candi­dates.From 1982 to 1997, 40 patients with cN2 were operated on, who actually had pN2. We retrospectively analyzed the survival of the­se 40 patients by means of a univariate and multivariate analysis. The overall 5-year survival rate of the cN2-pN2 patients was 21%. According to multivariate analysis, single metastatic MLN station, absence of parietal pleural involvement and low CEA level impro­ved the prognosis. The 5-year survival rate of the patients with all of the three prognostic factors (n=6) was 67% and that of those with two prognostic factors (n=9) was 21%, compared with 0% in those with one or none (n=24) (p<0.01 and p=0.05, respectively). Even in cN2-pN2, patients with these three prognostic factors can benefit from primary surgical treatment, and can have long-term survival.