Prognostic Value of Computed Tomography Morphologic Characteristics in Stage I Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

We conclude that, within stage I NSCLC, patient survival and disease prognosis vary significantly depending on such morphologic characteristics. This fact is one of the weakest points of the current tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification. Along with already-established tumor prognostic attributes such as size and TNM grade, we identified CT morphologic characteristics as powerful additional prognostic factors for NSCLC.