LAUSR

In recent years, many factors have reintroduced an interest in anatomic segmentectomy as the favored procedure for early lung cancer. This is due to technical advances in imaging and the use of low-dose CT imaging in various screening programs, a larger number of elderly patients and those with limited pulmonary reserve being treated with minimally invasive techniques, and the epidemiologic rise in multiple or bilateral lung nodules. Thoracic surgeons will likely encounter the dilemma of how to manage a significantly increased number of small peripheral tumors. The main advantage of segmentectomy over lobectomy is obviously the parenchyma-sparing effect, but it is still debatable whether the oncologic outcomes are comparable in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Lung Cancer Study Group completed the only available phase III prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) of sublobar resection vs lobectomy in peripheral NSCLCs # 3 cm. Ginsberg et al demonstrated an unfavorable postoperative prognosis (threefold increase in the locoregional