Advances in Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Treatment

Dear Colleagues,

Similar to systemic therapy, modern oncological surgery also involves an increase in personalized treatment. With the necessary surgical expertise, the extent of the operation can now be tailored to the tumor biology and functional circumstances of the patient. Large-scale studies such as the Asian JCOG0802/WJOG4607L and North American CALGB 140503 have shown that in the early stages of lung cancer, parenchyma-sparing anatomical segmentectomy is not inferior to lobectomy. In line with the shift in thoracic surgery towards parenchyma-sparing procedures, tumors are now being detected at an earlier stage more frequently. Screening programs for lung cancer are being implemented worldwide. Low-dose CT screening will detect an increased number of ground-glass opacities and small lung lesions. To avoid overdiagnosis and unnecessary invasive procedures, an interdisciplinary care concept for diagnosis and therapy is expected to become standard practice in modern pulmonary medicine for dealing with small, difficult-to-access pulmonary nodules, as encountered in low-dose CT screening. Ideally, this approach would include diagnostics, preoperative marking—for example, using CT-guided wire marking or bronchoscopic navigation—minimally invasive resection, and intraoperative pathology, all in a single session at a single location under the same general anesthesia. Such hybrid operations, based on the “one-stop shop” principle, aim to reduce the time taken for a definitive diagnosis and therapy, avoid unnecessary visits and waiting times, and improve patient safety and comfort. These technical innovations and new multimodal oncological approaches mark the beginning of a new era in thoracic surgery.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of review and original papers discussing the latest research in advances in thoracic surgery and lung cancer treatment. Our aim is to highlight technical innovations and new multimodal oncological concepts for treating lung cancer. We particularly welcome submissions presenting new data that demonstrate the potential of novel techniques or technologies, such as hybrid operations and one-stop shop approaches, in this emerging field of thoracic surgery.

Cutting-edge research: JCOG0802/WJOG4607L trial & CALGB 140503 trial.

Authors are welcome to submit their original articles and reviews. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts.

Dr. Seyer Safi
Guest Editor

Dr. Katrin Welcker
Guest Editor Assistant

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• lung cancer
• hybrid operation
• one-stop shop
• segmentectomy