Blood transfusion and lung cancer recurrence |
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Authors: | S M Keller S Groshen N Martini L R Kaiser |
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Institution: | Division of Thoracic Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. |
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Abstract: | Recent reports have suggested that perioperative blood transfusions may adversely affect prognosis after resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To determine the impact of perioperative transfusion on the recurrence-free interval, the status of 352 patients who underwent pulmonary resection for pathologic Stages I and II NSCLC was investigated. Transfused patients were significantly older than untransfused patients (P = 0.0009) but were not significantly different in sex distribution (P = 0.12) or tumor stage (P = 0.09). Recurrence was not significantly different in transfused patients when compared with patients who received no blood (P = 0.23) even when stratified for stage (Stage I, P = 0.58; Stage II, P = 0.14). Furthermore, the number of units transfused was not associated with time to tumor recurrence (P = 0.58). Contrary to other reports, these results do not support the contention that perioperative blood transfusion is significantly associated with decreased recurrence-free survival. |
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