When can surgery be performed?
Prerequisite for a successful operation is the tumour stage and the type of tumour: In the case of a non-small-cell tumour at an early stage, surgery is a possible option. Non-small cell tumours account for 80 percent of all lung tumours.
If a tumour is diagnosed in an advanced stage, a drug therapy can be administered prior to an operation in order to reduce the size of the tumour and thus make the operation easier or possible in the first place. This is called neoadjuvant therapy.
Specialised surgeons
Part of our Lung Cancer Center is the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery, which is one of the designated treatment centers with over 500 thoracic surgical procedures per year and offers both minimally invasive and conventional methods of cancer surgery. If surgery is indicated, we discuss all aspects with our patients in detail.
In selected cases even small cell tumours can be successfully operated. However, the vast majority of these tumors require systemic treatment, i.e. drug therapies and radiation.