Assessment of Preoperative Condition and Postoperative Outcome in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer Surgery

Complete surgical resection still represents the main curative treatment modality for patients with early-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer. Despite tremendous advances in perioperative and postoperative care, postoperative outcome is still disappointing. Although pathological tumor stage is the most important prognostic parameter in nonsmall cell lung cancer, additional parameters are required to explain the large variability in postoperative outcome. Therefore, assessment of preoperative condition and postoperative outcome in patients undergoing surgery is a challenging area. The research summarized in this thesis describes preoperative risk assessment, including preoperative staging, and early and late postoperative outcome. This may help the clinician in clinical decision-making and treatment tailoring.