Surgery for early stage lung cancer offers the chance for a cure, yet removing a lobe of a lung is a very major surgery.
Because of this, newer techniques have been developed with the hope of accomplishing the same goal in a less invasive way. One of these is video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS).
During a traditional lobectomy to remove a cancerous lobe of the lung, surgeons make a long incision following the ribs and then separate the ribs (and may remove a portion of a rib) to gain access to the chest cavity. In a VATS lobectomy, several small incisions are made, allowing surgeons to remove a tumor through a space between the ribs aided by special instruments and a camera.
Researchers in Korea decided to evaluate the effectiveness of a VATS lobectomy by comparing the outcomes of people with stage 1 lung cancer treated with VATS versus those treated with a traditional lobectomy.
In this study there was no significant difference in 3-year overall survival or disease-free survival between the VATS group and the traditional lobectomy group. There was also no significance difference between the two groups when it came to complications after surgery. A difference that was significant was the length of hospitalization following the procedures. The average hospital stay for those who had the VATS procedure was 2 days shorter than the traditional group.
These findings are similar to those found in an earlier review of studies to date. People who were treated with a VATS lobectomy instead of a traditional lobectomy had shorter hospital stays, and in some studies, had an improved survival rate 4 years following the procedure.
That said, a VATS lobectomy may not be for everyone. There may be medical reasons your surgeon might prefer a traditional approach. In addition, newer procedures such as VATS are not available everywhere, and choosing this treatment may require traveling to a major cancer center far from home. But it is important to talk with your doctor about the option that is best for your particular circumstances.
Further Reading:
Photo: National Cancer Institute, John Crawford (photographer)
Sources:
Park, J. et al. Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) Lobectomy for Pathologic Stage 1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Comparative Study with Thoracotomy Lobectomy. Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2011. 44(1):32-8.
Whitson, B. et al. Surgery for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review of the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery versus thoracotomy approaches to lobectomy. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2008. 86(6):2008-16.
