Objective  To evaluate the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with pleural dissemination after different surgical interventions.

  Methods  We retrospectively reviewed clinical and survival data of 153 NSCLC patients with pleural dissemination who were diagnosed and treated in our hospital from May 2002 to May 2011.

  Results  The overall 3-and 5-year survival rates of all the patients are 38.5% and 24.2%, respectively, with a median survival time (MST) of 29.0 months. A total of 122 patients accepted primary tumor resection whereas the remaining 31 received pleural biopsy. The 5-year survival rate of the primary tumor resection group was 26.2% with a MST of 29.0 months and 16.1% for the pleural biopsy group with a MST of 24.0 months. The survival analysis showed no significant differences in the prognosis between the primary tumor resection and pleural biopsy groups (P>0.05). In the primary tumor resection group, different surgical interventions (with or without lymph nodes dissection, with or without metastatic nodules resection, lobe, or partial lobe resection) had no effect on prognosis (P>0.05).

  Conclusion  Patients with pleural dissemination had poor prognosis. Different surgical interventions showed no survival benefits for patients with NSCLC regarding pleural dissemination. The role of surgery was to rule out or confirm pleural dissemination. The definite value of surgery still needs further exploration.