Including positive lymph node count in the AJCC N staging may be a better predictor of the prognosis of NSCLC patients, especially stage III patients: a large population-based study.

Background: The study was designed to explore the value of including positive lymph node count in the TNM staging system of non-small cell lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: The X-tile model was applied to determine the cutoff values of positive lymph node count. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and differences in survival among subgroups were examined using the log-rank test.