Oligometastatic disease in lung cancer for surgeons: An update

Purpose of review Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogenic disease with constant challenges for physicians. In the case of oligometastatic disease, surgery has a crucial role. In selected cases of a possible indolent progression of the malignancy, a surgical approach is recommended to control the disease. The management of this subset of patients should be performed in a multidisciplinary team in order to define the best strategy for each patient. Recent findings The implementation of optimizing surgical management has demonstrated better outcomes in terms of long-term survival with no detrimental impact in morbidity and mortality. The progressive identification and use of molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapy has led to considerable improvements in responses among patients with advanced, unresectable NSCLC. As a result, the new concept of oligoprogressive disease is another demanding task to manage for oncologists and surgeons. Summary Further studies are needed in order to best select patients, and to identify the best strategy to adopt also with the association among surgery, radiotherapy and oncolog-ical drugs.