Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Provides Improved Overall Survival Compared To Open Lobectomy

Patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic room (VATS) compared to unfastened lobectomy had a importantly improved wide endurance rate, according to a meta-analysis presented astatine nan International Association for nan Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2025 World Conference connected Lung Cancer (WCLC).

Video-assisted thoracoscopic room (VATS) is presently nan astir communal attack to execute pulmonary lobectomy successful early-stage lung cancer. Advantages see reduced pain, less complications, faster betterment and improved quality-of-life. The take of VATS lobectomy is based connected proven non-oncological benefits.

According to Dr. Jacie Jiaqi Law, Royal Brompton Hospital, United Kingdom, nary of nan 3 largest modern randomized tests completed person been powered to observe a quality successful wide aliases disease-free survival. Several meta-analyses of predominantly non-randomized studies person suggested a VATS attack leads to improved diligent endurance compared to thoracotomy, nevertheless findings are constricted owed to action bias and confounding, Dr. Law reported.

To reply this important question, Dr. Law and chap researchers sought to place randomized tests comparing VATS and unfastened lobectomy successful early-stage lung crab and get individual diligent information from these tests to behaviour a meta-analysis.

Of nan 556 imaginable studies identified, only 3 were randomized tests that met nan eligibility criteria: Bendixen et al. from Denmark (NCT01278888), Long et al. from China (NCT01102517) and Lim et al. from nan United Kingdom (NCT03521375). Data connected 1185 patients (586 randomized to VATS and 599 randomized to unfastened lobectomy) was provided from nan 3 trials.

The superior study indicated importantly improved wide endurance for patients randomized to VATS compared to unfastened lobectomy, pooled hazard ratio (HR) 0.79 (95% assurance interval (CI) 0.65-0.96), representing a 21% simplification successful nan consequence of decease successful nan VATS lobectomy group. There was nary quality successful disease-free survival, pooled HR 0.91 (95% CI 0.75-1.12).

For nan first time, we supply grounds that a elemental alteration successful surgical entree to VATS reduces nan wide consequence of decease by 21% without immoderate discuss to disease-free survival. These results underscore nan value of prioritizing VATS erstwhile technically feasible arsenic nan entree of prime for surgical resection of early-stage non-small compartment lung cancer."

Dr. Jacie Jiaqi Law, Royal Brompton Hospital, United Kingdom