[Minimal-invasive surgery for lung cancer - strategies and limits]

Minimal invasive surgical procedures, also known as keyhole surgery, have gained in importance in the last years and have become the standard of care in experienced hands for most surgical procedures. Despite initial concerns with respect to the radicalness of the approach it is nowadays also established in oncologic surgery. Minimal invasive procedures aim at minimizing the operative trauma and associated inflammatory reactions to achieve faster convalescence after surgery. In addition to obvious cosmetic advantages minimal invasive surgery has been shown to be associated with fewer postoperative pain and shorter postoperative rehabilitation and faster reintegration into everyday as well as working life. With 15% of all cancer diagnoses and 29% of all cancer-associated causes of death, lung cancer is the most frequent malignancy in the general public and hence the treatment of lung cancer is a main focus of thoracic surgery. Within the scope of modern multimodal treatment concepts radical surgical resection of lung cancer is essential and the main pillar of curative treatment. In early stage lung cancer the current standard of care is a thoracoscopic lobectomy with mediastinal lymphadenectomy. The expertise of specialized centers allows for curative minimal-invasive treatment in a large number of patients, particularly of patients of advanced age or with limited pulmonary function.