Effect of metabolic syndrome and its components on recurrence and survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Previous studies have indicated that clustering of components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases the risk for the development of several cancers such as colon, prostate, and breast cancer. However, the prognostic role of MetS in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been well defined. We reviewed the clinical data and pre-treatment information of MetS of 545 patients with NSCLC who underwent radical surgery and were pathologically diagnosed as stage IB of NSCLC. The influence of MetS and/or its components on survival outcome was examined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses. The patients with MetS showed no difference in survival outcome regarding overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with patients without MetS in univariate, multivariate, and stratification analyses. However, in univariate analysis, a high high density lipoprotein level was a good prediction factor for DFS (median DFS with vs. without MetS: 124.3 vs. 115.1 months P = 0.036). Other single MetS components showed no association with OS and DFS in early-stage NSCLC. For other clinical characteristic, the age and adjuvant therapy were the independent prognostic factors of OS in univariate and multivariate analyses. MetS and/or its components do not have significant prognostic value in early-stage NSCLC.