In a nutshell
This trial examined different surgical techniques to treat early stage non-small-stage lung cancer. The authors concluded that there was no difference in effectiveness between three different surgical techniques for patients with early stage NSCLC.
Some background
Early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is commonly treated with surgery. Thoracotomy involves a surgical incision into the chest wall. This is a common surgical procedure even though it is invasive. Another less invasive surgical method is video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), which involves using a small camera that is inserted into the patients’ chest via a scope. There is increasing evidence to support VATS for treating early stage NSCLC, including less post-surgery pain, fewer complications, shorter hospital stay and superior survival. Another less invasive procedure is robotic lobectomy, where the surgeon controls robotic devices to perform the procedure. The effectiveness of each of these procedures has not yet been directly compared.
Methods & findings
This trial examined the effectiveness of different surgical approaches to treat early stage NSCLC. A total of 470 patients were included. Group 1 included 172 patients treated with robotic lobectomy. Group 2 included 141 patients treated with VATS. Group 3 included 157 patients treated with thoracotomy.
All groups had similar complication rates, overall survival rates and post operative complications. 5-year disease free survival (time from treatment until disease return) was significantly higher in group 1 (72.7%) compared to group 2 (65.5%).
Hospital stay was shorter for patients treated with minimally invasive procedures. Group 1 and 2 patients spent 4 days in hospital and group 3 patients spent 5 days.
There were 2 deaths overall, 1 from pneumonia and another from cancer that had spread elsewhere in the body.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that there was no difference in survival rates between the surgical techniques but that minimally invasive techniques resulted in shorter hospital stays.
Published By :
Annals of Surgery
Date :
Feb 01, 2017
