New therapeutic approaches for early stage non-small cell lung cancer.
Surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, many patients present with advanced stage disease, and many with resectable early stage disease are unable to tolerate pulmonary resection because of compromised cardiopulmonary function. This article reviews the standard and some alternative therapies that are being introduced into clinical practice for early stage NSCLC. New therapies such as sublobar resection with brachytherapy, radiofrequency ablation and stereotactic radiosurgery offer some hope for those patients who are deemed poor candidates for curative resection.
El-Sherif
Amgad
A
Division of Thoracic and Foregut Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA, USA.
Luketich
James D
JD
Landreneau
Rodney J
RJ
Fernando
Hiran C
HC
D001918:Brachytherapy; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D016634:Radiosurgery