Intrapleural chemotherapy improves the survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients with positive pleural lavage cytology.

Purpose: Information regarding the treatment of pleural lavage cytology (PLC)-positive patients is still limited. This study evaluated the efficacy of intrapleural chemotherapy (IPC) in PLC-positive patients.
Methods: Three hundred eighty-six of the 567 lung cancer patients who underwent surgery had undergone PLC after thoracotomy, following by a complete resection were evaluated. IPC was performed after surgery, and cisplatin or adriamycin was injected intrapleurally through the thoracic tube.
Results: The pathological diagnosis showed that 17 patients (4.4 %) were positive for (or suspected to have) malignancy in their PLC. The univariate and multivariate analysis showed that only pleural invasion was a significant predictor of a PLC-positive status. The 5-year overall survival in PLC-positive patients was 38 % and that in PLC-negative patients was 84 %. Both the univariate (p < 0.01) and multivariate (p = 0.045) analyses showed that the status of PLC was significantly associated with the overall survival. Eight of the 17 PLC-positive patients underwent IPC. The 2-year OS rate in the patients treated with IPC was 88 % and that of those without IPC was 44 (p = 0.04).
Conclusion: IPC improved the postoperative survival in PLC-positive NSCLC patients, and a further prospective evaluation regarding this therapy is warranted.