Interdisciplinary treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

At the time of diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, about two thirds of the patients manifest tumor disease limited to the lungs without distant metastases. In this group localized tumor spread (stages I and II) can be distinguished from locally advanced spread including lymph node metastases (stages IIIA and B). In stages I and II with sufficient cardiopulmonary function, surgical resection is considered the standard treatment approach. If lobe resection is not possible due to comorbidities or limited pulmonary function, parenchyma-sparing resection or definitive radiotherapy is advocated. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for individual cases in stage IB and as the standard treatment in stage II. In stages IIIA and IIIB interdisciplinary consultation involving pneumologists/oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologists is necessary to reach decisions on treatment recommendations. Generally multiple treatment modalities are employed in these stages, such as induction chemotherapy followed by surgery and subsequent irradiation or simultaneous chemoradiotherapy. These treatment combinations with curative intent should be differentiated from the numerous treatment methods with palliative intent.