Prognostic value of intraoperative pleural lavage cytology for non-small cell lung cancer: The influence of positive pleural lavage cytology results on T classification

摘要

Objective: Although positive pleural lavage cytology (PLC) has been demonstrated to be closely associated with a poor prognosis for patients with lung cancer, it has not been incorporated into the TNM staging system of the Union for International Cancer Control. The aim of our study was to retrospectively examine the clinical significance of PLC status and illustrate the recommendations of the International Pleural Lavage Cytology Collaborators (IPLCC) in a large national database.