ABSTRACT
The paper deals with data on 191 endotracheobronchial surgeries (ETBS) in 153 patients with advanced non-small lung cancer involving breath obstruction (stage IIb--13.7%, III--71.9%, IV--14.4%). Difficulty in breathing either subsided or decreased significantly immediately after surgery. When followed by radiochemotherapy, ETBS was followed by survival median (over 14 months), both until tumor progression and during relapse-free survival. Complications were infrequent (8.5%); there was no lethality. End results were improved due to use of photodynamic therapy at the closing stage of treatment which pushed survival median to 17 months. In 11 cases (7.2%), combination of ETBS and radiotherapy rendered tumor operable; after radical surgery, survival median rose to 23 months, relapse-free survival--20 months. Postoperative radiotherapy was followed by 23.5 and 22 months of survival respectively. Hence, ETBS alone or carried out in conjunction with radiochemotherapy significantly improved (by 30-50%) quality of life in patients with advanced non-small lung cancer.
