Intraoperative Lymph Node Management During Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Surgery

Excerpt

The current issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology publishes an excellent study by Handa et al.1 This work supports the use of systematic lymph node dissection in patients with hypermetabolic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and adds further clarification on what is a highly contentious and debated matter. Lymph node management during lung cancer surgery continues to be the subject of significant debate and analysis in the thoracic surgical community. Lymphadenectomy and lymph node sampling are fundamental in allowing for accurate staging with potential for survival benefit. The various intraoperative techniques relating to lymph node assessment demonstrate a lack of definitive indications regarding the best option. Given this, over the last couple of decades, there have been numerous studies assessing surgical lymph node management with factors such as surgical morbidity, recurrence rate, and long-term survival. …