ObjectiveTo identify prognostic factors for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in pathologic stage ⅠA after operation. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 138 patients, who underwent surgical resection at our institution for stage ⅠA NSCLC. There were 81 males and 57 females with a median age of 61 years (ranged from 37 to 80 years). The in-hospital data and follow-up results were collected. Survival curve was generated by Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses of disease-free survival (DFS) were performed. ResultsThe follow-up time was from 9 to 90 months with a median of 59 months. During the follow-up, recurrence and metastasis occurred in 14 patients, local relapse in 8 patients, bone and ipsilateral lymph node metastasis occurred in one patient. Univariate analysis showed that DFS of patients was related with blood vessel or lymphatic invasion (P=0.017), poor histological differentiation (P=0.043), and tumor diameter ≥2 cm (P=0.017), respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that tumor diameter ≥2 cm (P=0.026) and blood vessel or lymphatic invasion (P=0.011) were independent prognostic factors for DFS of stage ⅠA NSCLC patients after operation. ConclusionOur analyses indicate vessel involvement and the tumor diameter are independent indicators of DFS in patients with pathologic stage ⅠA NSCLC after operation.