[Broncho-angioplasty surgery in the treatment of lung cancer]

Surgical strategies in the therapy of non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer represents the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Despite improvements in preoperative staging, surgical techniques, neoadjuvant/adjuvant options and postoperative care, there are still major difficulties in significantly improving survival, especially in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, surgical resection is the primary mode of treatment for stage I and II NSCLC and has become an important component of the multimodality therapy of even more advanced disease with a curative intention. In fact, in NSCLC patients with solitary distant metastases, surgical interventions have been discussed in the last years. Accordingly, this review displays the recent surgical strategies implemented in the therapy of NSCLC patients.

[Thoracic surgery 2009]

Started with tuberculosis and developed in parallel with smoking and cancer and under the protection of anaesthesia, thoracic surgery appeared in the 1980's as a specialty with a difficult long-term survival. However, with the development of lung transplant, tracheal surgery, the appearance of video-assisted thoracic surgery, along with the confirmation that despite the excellent progress of chemoradiotherapy, surgery continues to be the best option for curing lung cancer, means that it is currently a specialty of great growth and a wider scope in the future.