Dr. Swanson on Surgical Choices for Multifocal Lung Cancer

Scott J. Swanson, MD, co-director of Minimally Invasive Surgery and chief surgical officer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, discusses surgical choices for patients with multifocal lung cancer.

The size of a tumor is not always a determining factor of aggression, explains Swanson. A larger tumor could possibly be more benign than a smaller tumor, but there is no available test to determine that fact prior to a surgical procedure.

Finding a test, whether it is a molecular or imaging test, that can determine the aggression prior to surgery, is being explored an ongoing study. This test would allow that knowledge to be integrated into the operation with less disturbance to the patient.