The role of lymphatic vascular invasion in the prognosis and determination of therapy in surgically resected non-small cell carcinoma of the lung.

7554 Background: Lymphatic-vascular invasion (LVI) is not currently considered in staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We assessed the impact of LVI on overall survival (OS), local/distant recurrence (LR/DR) and patterns of recurrence. Methods: 869 consecutive patients who underwent a definitive surgical resection ± adjuvant chemotherapy for NSCLC from 2000–2008 were qualified for analysis if they did not receive any adjuvant/neo-adjuvant radiotherapy, had at least three months of follow-up, and did not have a history of other cancers within 5 years. Tumors with LVI (N = 160) were compared to tumors without LVI (N = 705). LR/DR rates at 2,3, and 5 years were calculated by the methods of Kaplan-Meier. Association between LVI and OS and LR/DR were compared in the total population and in a propensity matched population (PS) by factors affecting OS and LR/DR (n=160 matched pairs). Results: OS, LR, and DR were significantly worse in patients with LVI in the total population and in the subset of patie...