Modern surgical approach to treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract:

Surgical treatment remains as the most efficient form of therapy for patients suffering from non-small cells lung cancer (stage I and stage II disease). The development of minimally invasive medical techniques now allows for surgical treatment in elderly patients, patients with poor lung function and patients with other significant comorbidities. Perioperative mortality has dropped significantly over the last twenty years, along with a significantly higher rate of solving postoperative complications. Progress in imaging and other („staging“) techniques has significantly reduced surgical treatment failure and has offered more efficient therapeutic procedures. Large randomized studies have been able to substantially clarify the role of neoadjuvant therapy, adjuvant therapy and radiotherapy. Surgical treatment has an increasingly important role in the treatment of patients with spread disease (stage III and stage IV). Despite progress, lung cancer death rate is still very high. Better knowledge of the disease, the development of biological markers, earlier diagnosis and more effective surgical plans and oncology treatments are aimed towards achieving significantly better prognosis for lung cancer patients in future. 

Key words:
cancer staging; NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer); multimodal therapy; survival; thoracic surgery