Methods
NSCLC, tumor
TUMOR, METASTASIS, NSCLC, SECONDARY
Patients who underwent lobectomy, bilobectomy and pneumonectomy for NSCLC at our clinic between September 2014 and October 2019 were examined prospectively. All patients were preoperatively diagnosed with NSCLC and were assessed using positron emission tomography (PET/CT) for clinical staging before surgical treatment. The exclusion criteria were (a) N2 lymph node positivity in preoperative mediastinal staging, (b) N2 lymph node positivity after resection, (c) neoadjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, (d) distant organ metastasis, (e) synchronous tumor, (f) sublobar resection, and (g) incomplete surgical resection of the tumor (R1 or R2). In this study, the primary endpoint is the effect of the harvesting method in detecting N1 lymph node involvement. The secondary endpoint is the effect of N0, N1 and multiple N1 lymph nodes on survival. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethical Committee of Clinical Research. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all patients in the study.