[Modern surgical staging of lung cancer]

The estimation of the extension of a lung cancer is actually made according to the rules of TNM system. On the basis of the reports of 100 patients who underwent thoracotomy and were staged according to this system after hystological examination of resected specimen (pTNM), the authors consider some not yet clear aspects of this staging. In particular they underline the wide difference between clinical and post-histological staging; the high rate of nodal involvement, if the surgeon always perform a radical excision of the lymph nodes; the further need of accuracy for the data N2 and T3; the role of the anatomo-pathologist for the correct staging pTNM.