Less is More: Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) vs. Open Thoracotomy (OT) in the Management of Resectable Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortalities around the world [1]. Potentially curable early stage Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) can be found in one-third of this patient population [2]. Surgical resection remains the backbone of treatment in resectable lung cancers. The introduction of VATS in 1994 [3] sparked interest in minimally invasive tumor resection. VATS has also been shown to have fewer postoperative complications [4] and has been associated with decreased postoperative pain and increased quality of life compared to OT [5]. Several studies have compared these two approaches indirectly, but no randomized controlled trial has investigated the long-term effect on outcomes. We aim to investigate the long-term Disease-Free Survival (DFS) and OS of patients with lung cancer undergoing lung resection by OT or VATS for resectable stage lung cancer. Patients and Methods