Abstract: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide in both men and women. Although the history of surgical treatment for lung cancer has been over 70 years and there have been great refinements in the staging and classification of lung cancer and advances in stage identification using minimally invasive technology, no dramatic improvements in the 5-year survival rates have been achieved. The treatment and prevention of lung cancer are major unmet needs that can better understanding of the mechanism and evolution of the disease will probably improve the treatment and prevention of lung cancer. Advances in preoperative staging and thoracic surgical techniques have reduced invasive procedures related to lung cancer diagnosis, staging, and treatment. This review will focus on major recent advances in the minimally invasive techniques for lung cancer staging, surgical technique and multimodality treatment for lung cancer. These progresses have facilitated defining optimal therapy and improving prognosis via individualized comprehensive treatment of lung cancer.

Key words: lung neoplasm, staging, surgical treatment, progress