Factors affecting survival in superior XXXX .

@entity1 @entity5 @entity66 @entity158
Fifty-five @entity1 with superior sulcus syndrome were treated at the UCLA Medical Center and Wadsworth VA Hospital (Los Angeles) between 1956 and 1985. Twenty-eight underwent surgery, six of whom were found unresectable at the time of thoracotomy. Twenty-one of 22 in the resected group received preoperative irradiation. Twenty-seven @entity1 received radiation only. Surgical morbidity was 21%, and there were two in-hospital deaths. Five-year survival for extended resection @entity1 was 34%. The radiation only group had no 5-year survivors. Factors associated with a worse prognosis include positive margins, @entity66 , and vertebral body involvement. The best results for superior @entity5 are obtained by preoperative irradiation followed by en bloc resection of the @entity5 . In the event complete resection is impossible, radiation has a role in palliation of @entity158 with occasional prolonged survival.
