Is there a place for surgical management in stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer?

Introduction. - Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a major health problem, with a 5-year overall survival of 25%. Surgical management of stage IIIA NSCLC is still controversial. We conduct a systematic analysis of the different management strategies for stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. Methods. - We analyzed randomized control trials published between January 1990 to December 2013, comparing induction chemotherapy followed by surgery vs. surgery alone, and those comparing induction chemo or radiotherapy followed by surgery vs. induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. Results. - A 16% significant increase in overall survival was found in favor of induction chemotherapy followed by surgery vs. surgery alone. However, there was no significant difference in overall survival between induction chemo- or radiotherapy followed by surgery and induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy Conclusion. - Current scientific data do not permit the exclusion of surgery as an option in the management of stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. (C) 2014 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.