The impact of cardiovascular comorbidities on the outcome of surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer

Objectives The presence of cardiovascular comorbidity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients increases with age. Therefore, the influence of cardiovascular comorbidity in NSCLC patients on their short-or long-term prognosis remains controversial. This study evaluated the possible risk factors related to the short-term and long-term survivals in NSCLC patients with cardiovascular comorbidity. Methods One thousand one hundred and sixty-two consecutive patients with NSCLC who had undergone a surgical resection between 1984 and 2010 were enrolled in this study. A total of 360 (31%) patients with cardiovascular comorbidities were analysed to identify the risk factors for postoperative complications and prognostic factors. Results The patients with cardiovascular comorbidity included 301 with hypertension, 28 with coronary artery disease, 35 with peripheral vascular disease, 23 with arrhythmia and 11 with abdominal aortic aneurysm. Eighty-three patients exhibited more than one type of comorbidity. The postoperative cardiovascular morbidity rates were 3.6% in the cardiovascular comorbidity patients and 3.3% among patients without cardiovascular comorbidity (P = 0.73). No correlation was observed between preoperative cardiovascular comorbidity and postoperative pulmonary complications (P = 0.52). The operative mortality rates were 1.0% for the cardiovascular comorbidity patients and 0.8% for the other patients (P = 0.51). No difference in the postoperative outcomes was observed between the patients with and without cardiovascular comorbidity. The 5-year survival rates were 62.5% in comparison with 65.4% among patients without cardiovascular comorbidity (P = 0.48). Conclusions Patients with cardiovascular comorbidity were not found to be at increased risk of mortality and morbidity following surgery for NSCLC. In addition, cardiovascular comorbidity did not influence the long-term outcomes of patients after a pulmonary resection for NSCLC.