Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer after induction therapy:

BackgroundAlthough thoracoscopic surgery is widely performed for early-stage lung cancer, only a few small studies have evaluated the role of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in patients with locally advanced lung cancer who had received preoperative chemotherapy.MethodsAmong 1655 patients who underwent anatomical lung resection for lung cancer between January 2009 and December 2014 in our institution, we retrospectively examined the short- and long-term outcomes of 110 (6.6%) who had undergone induction therapy. Thoracoscopic surgery was performed in 79 of these patients and thoracotomy in 31.ResultsIn the thoracoscopic group, conversion to a thoracotomy was required in 4 patients. More combined resections were included in the thoracotomy group, and combined resection of large vessels or the carina was carried out only via a thoracotomy. Postoperative complications of grade 3 or above were found in 15 (13.6%) patients, and there was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complica...