Oncologic validity of minimally invasive lobectomy for early stage lung cancer

Minimally invasive pulmonary lobectomy was first performed decades ago and was adopted quite slowly compared to other common major laparoscopic or thoracoscopic procedures. The reasons behind slow adoption were complex, multifactorial and beyond the scope of this article, but concerns about oncologic validity have been cited as concerns by traditional open surgeons. A recent article by Yang and colleagues adds to a growing body of works serving to dispel these concerns (1). In this commentary, we will discuss this paper as well as supplement our previously published arguments regarding the oncologic validity of minimally invasive lobectomy (MIL) with more recent research (2).