Demographics, Safety and Quality, and Prognostic Information in Both the Seventh and Eighth Editions of the TNM Classification in 18,973 Surgical Cases of the Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry Database in 2010

Introduction: The Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry performed the fourth nationwide registry study of surgical cases. Demographics, safety and quality, prognostic information, and correlations between the seventh and the eighth editions of the TNM classification were investigated. The principal results were compared with those of previous Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry studies.

Methods: The clinicopathologic profiles, staging, and prognosis of patients who had an operation for primary lung cancer in 2010 were retrospectively collected in 2016 and analyzed.

Results: The cohort consisted of 18,973 patients from 297 hospitals (11,771 males, mean age 68.3 years). Tumor smaller than 2.0 cm was seen in 39.0% of patients, and limited resection was performed in 22.7%. The 30- and 90-day mortality rates were 0.43 and 1.26%, respectively. The overall and disease-free survival rates at 5 years were 74.7 and 67.8%, respectively. The respective 5-year survival rates by pathological stage in the seventh edition in the present study (2010) and in the previous study (2004) were 88.9% and 86.8% for stage IA, 76.7% and 73.9% for stage IB, 64.1% and 61.6% for stage IIA, 56.1% and 49.8% for stage IIB, 47.9% and 40.9% for stage IIIA, 30.2% and 27.8% for stage IIIB, and 36.1% and 27.9% for stage IV. The 5-year survival rates by clinical stage in the eighth edition in the present study were 97.0% for stage 0, 91.6% for stage IA1, 81.4% for stage IA2, 74.8% for stage IA3, 71.5% for stage IB, 60.2% for stage IIA, 58.1% for stage IIB, 50.6% for stage IIIA, 40.5% for stage IIIB, 37.5% for stage IIIC, and 36.0% for IVA/B. With restaging, the overall survival rates of clinical stage IA and IB in the seventh edition were stratified into stages 0 to IA3 and stages IA1 to IIA in the eighth edition, respectively.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates improved surgical results for lung cancer in Japan. The TNM revision for the eighth edition was supported by the assessment of stage migration from the previous edition and the prognostic stratification.