Our experiences in the surgical approach to the treatment of lung cancer

Abstract

It is considered that 2,200,000 new patients with lung cancer are detected annually in the world (Globcan 2020), i.e. 1,135 in the Republic of North Macedonia (Globcan 2020), of which only 59 patients were surgically treated at the thoracic and vascular surgery clinic in 2022, which is 85% of the total surgically treated in the Republic of North Macedonia. The use of oncological drugs before surgical treatment can contribute to the application of surgery in cases where it was not possible, as well as reduce the tumor so that a less extensive surgical procedure can be applied. At the Thoracic and Vascular Surgery Clinic, of 59 patients surgically treated for lung cancer, 49 (83%) were treated with open anterolateral thoracotomy, and lobectomy with lymphadenectomy was most commonly performed in 41 (49.5%). Early diagnosis of lung cancer, using computed tomography screening, would allow the use of less aggressive approaches, such as videothoracoscopic surgery, robot-assisted surgery, and the use of less extensive lung resections such as segmentectomies with lymphadenectomy.