Prognostic factors in stage III non-small cell lung cancer: a review of conventional, metabolic and new biological variables
Open Access
- 7 March 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology
- Vol. 3 (3), 127-138
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1758834011401951
Abstract
Lung cancer is one of the most frequently occurring neoplasms and usually has a poor prognosis because most of the patients present with advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Numerous prognostic factors (PFs) have been studied, but the two most prominent, having both prognostic and operational values, are disease stage and performance status. Even if the literature on PFs in lung cancer is impressive, the number of publications specifically dealing with PFs in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is limited. We reviewed the literature on this topic and separated the available information into three groups: conventional PFs, metabolic criteria (standardized uptake value [SUV] measured on18F-FDG-PET) and new biomarkers. Performance status and the distinction between stage IIIA and IIIB confirmed their prognostic value in stage III NSCLC. Other conventional PFs have been suggested such as age, weight loss, response to treatment and some characteristics describing the locoregional extension of the tumour. There is a place for the SUV as a PF for survival in early NSCLC, but its role in stage III NSCLC has to be further assessed. Some new biomarkers involved in cell cycle regulation or in apoptosis have been shown to have potential value. Their role needs to be confirmed in large prospective studies including conventional PFs to determine their independent value as a PF in stage III NSCLC. In conclusion, few PFs have been well evaluated in stage III NSCLC. New studies, taking into account the modifications derived from the 7th international staging system of the UICC, have to be performed.This publication has 80 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Prognostic Significance of Multiple Station N2 in Patients with Surgically Resected Stage IIIA N2 Non-small Cell Lung CancerJournal of Korean Medical Science, 2008
- Thyroid transcription factor 1—a new prognostic factor in lung cancer: a meta-analysisAnnals of Oncology, 2006
- Has Cox-2 a prognostic role in non-small-cell lung cancer? A systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis of the survival resultsBritish Journal of Cancer, 2006
- Prognostic role of thyroid transcription factor-1 in stage III non-small cell lung cancerLung Cancer, 2006
- Prognostic factors affecting long-term outcomes in patients with resected stage IIIA pN2 non-small-cell lung cancer: 5-year follow-up of a phase II studyBritish Journal of Cancer, 2006
- Comparative prognostic features of stage IIIAN2 and IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with surgery after induction therapyEuropean Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2005
- Association of HER‐2 overexpression with prognosis in nonsmall cell lung carcinoma: A metaanalysisCancer, 2005
- High Mutagen Sensitivity in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Predicts Poor Overall and Disease-Specific Survival in Patients with Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Radiotherapy and ChemotherapyClinical Cancer Research, 2005
- Combined modality trials of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: analysis of factors influencing survival and toxicityAnnals of Oncology, 2004
- Fas expression in non-small cell lung cancer: its prognostic effect in completely resected stage III patientsEuropean Journal of Cancer, 1999