2004 Volume 18 Issue 4 Pages 538-542
The malignancy status of 37 stapled-resected peripheral non-small cell lung cancers were compared between those resected using a stapler with an aggressive clamp (AC) and a stapler with less traumatic jaw closure (LTJC). The margin was diagnosed by cytology (run-across method) and histology. Type of stapling method, maximum tumor diameter (MTD), distance from the surgical margin to the tumor (MD), invasion of malignant cells to the lymph duct and location of the tumor were chosen as variables. There were no statistical differences in MTD, MD or location of the tumor. However, the ratio of positive malignancy in the surgical margin was 10/19 (53%) in the AC group and 2/18 (11%) in the LTJC group (p=0.013). A logistic regression test revealed that both the type of stapling method and invasion of malignant cells to the lymph duct were statistically significant using a multivariate analysis. The LTJC type stapling method showed less potential for positive malignancy in the surgical margin than the AC method, which might present a greater risk of surgical margin relapse.
