[The boundaries of curation]

Abstract

Local interventions improve the prognosis of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and can, in many cases, enable long-term survival. This is not just true for early-stage patients but also for selected patients with operable singular intra- or extrathoracic metastases. This article focuses on the use of bimodal treatment in stage IIIA/IIIB disease, exploration of the mediastinum, trimodal therapy in the case of patients with N2 disease identified prior to treatment, curative resection in metastatic disease, and the use of stereotactic radiation therapy in NSCLC.