Diminished Disease-Free Survival After Lobectomy: Screening Implications

Lobectomy materially diminishes long-term disease-free survival in the healthiest smokers-persons judged healthy enough to tolerate major surgery and to have sufficient pulmonary reserve to sustain loss of one-fifth of their lung tissue. In screened populations, diminished survival in overdiagnosed persons will offset, to an undetermined extent, the mortality benefit imparted by preemption of advanced lung cancer.