Abstract: Background and purpose: Adenocarcinoma has become the most common histological type of lung cancer in recent years, and there is an increasing trend. This study aimed to investigate postoperative differences in clinical characteristics between adenocarcinoma and other types of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and prognostic factors of adenocarcinoma treated with surgery, and to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: The medical records of patients with NSCLC treated with surgery were selected from Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2014 at the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. This study compared the differences in clinical characteristics between adenocarcinoma and other types of NSCLC, and analyzed the influence of prognostic factors of lung adenocarcinoma with log-rank test and COX model. Results: With 451 cases of adenocarcinoma, the gender ratio was 1.29∶1, the average age was 56.02 years old, the lymph node metastasis rate was 53.22% (240/451), and the median survival time was 44 months. There were statistical differences between adenocarcinoma and other types of NSCLC in gender ratio (P<0.001), average age (P=0.039), lymph node metastasis rate (P=0.012), and median survival time (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, PTNM stage (P<0.001), gender (P=0.032), preoperative diabetes (P=0.019), subcarinal lymph node metastasis (P=0.013), number of lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), postoperative chemotherapy (P=0.040) or targeted therapy after surgery (P<0.001) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: Compared with other types of NSCLC, adenocarcinoma showed the characteristics of higher incidence of constituent ratio in women, lower average age, higher rate of lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. PTNM stage, gender, preoperative diabetes, subcarinal lymph node metastasis, number of lymph node metastasis, postoperative chemotherapy or targeted therapy are important influencing factors that can affect the prognosis of adenocarcinoma following the surgical procedure.

Key words: Lung adenocarcinoma, Clinical characteristics, Surgical procedure, Prognosis