Tumor location is not an independent prognostic factor in early stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Conventional thoracic surgical teaching suggests a worse outcome for lower lobe lung cancers. It is unclear whether this is due to stage migration or whether lobar location is an independent negative prognostic factor.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of our institutional database of patients undergoing resection for pathologic stage I or stage II lung cancer between Jan 2000 and December 2006.