Thoracoscopic Anatomical Sublobar Resection Including Subsegmentectomy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background Among anatomical sublobar resection techniques for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the clinical benefit of subsegmentectomy remains unclear. We investigated whether anatomical sublobar resection including subsegmentectomy—segmental resection with subsegmental additional resection or subsegmental resection alone—is an effective and feasible surgical procedure for NSCLC. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data of 285 patients with clinical stage I NSCLC who underwent anatomical sublobar resection at our institution from January 2013 to March 2021 and compared surgical outcomes between patients who underwent anatomical sublobar resection including (IS; n = 50) and excluding (ES; n = 235) subsegmentectomy. Results No significant intergroup differences were noted in terms of age, sex, smoking, comorbidities, tumor size or location, consolidation tumor ratio, and preoperative pulmonary function. The IS group had more preoperative computed tomography-guided markings (34 vs. 15%; p = .004) and smaller resected lung volumes converted to the total subsegment number [3 (2–4) vs. 3 (3–6); p = .02] than the ES group. No significant differences in margin distance [mm, 20 (15–20) vs. 20 (20–20); p = .93], readmission rate (2% vs. 3%; p > .99), and intraoperative (8% vs. 7%; p = .77) or postoperative (8% vs. 10%; p = .80) complication rates were observed, and the 5-year local recurrence-free survival (91% vs. 90%; p = .92) or postoperative pulmonary function change were comparable between both groups. Conclusions Although further investigations are required, anatomical sublobar resection including subsegmentectomy for clinical stage I NSCLC could be an acceptable therapeutic option.