Methods: A total of 129 patients with T3 n on-small c ell l ung c ancer (125 males, 4 females; mean age 60±9.3 years; range 23 to 80 years) who were performed surgery in our clinic between January 1997 and December 2013 were evaluated retrospectively in terms of age, gender, type of resection, tumor histopathology, tumor, node and metastasis staging, lymph node invasion, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and recurrence.

Results: During the evaluation, while 61 patients (47.3%) were alive, 68 (52.7%) had lost their lives. One-, two- and five-year survival rates of the study population were 79.8%, 56.9% and 23.2%, respectively. Mean duration of survival was 41.5±4.0 months (range 33.7-49.4 months). Patient’s age or tumor histopathology did not affect the duration of survival. Overall duration of survival was significantly longer in patients of stage IIB, patients who had low stages of lymph node invasion, who were performed lobectomy, who received chemotherapy or radiotherapy or who were without recurrence (p<0.05 for each). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that lymph node invasion, presence of recurrence or pneumonectomy, or failure to have been administered chemotherapy increased mortality risk significantly (hazard ratios 0.217, 3.369, 2.791 and 2.254, respectively).

Conclusion: Our findings revealed that lymph node invasion, presence of recurrence or pneumonectomy, or failure to have been administered chemotherapy are poor prognostic factors in T₃ non-small cell lung cancer. Prognostic factors should be taken into consideration during treatment and follow-up periods of patients with T₃ non-small cell lung cancer.