Lung cancer surgery has changed significantly since the early 1990s. Until then, it required surgeons to remove lobes of the lungs through invasive open surgery. But the past few decades have seen advances in technology that have brought about new techniques. Today, surgeons look to perform minimally invasive lobectomies, replacing one large chest incision with several smaller ones and reducing recovery time as a result. A U.S. News and World Report article on this increasingly common surgical modality features MSK’s Dr. Bernard J. Park, deputy chief of clinical affairs of the thoracic surgery service. He explains that video cameras and robotic equipment allow surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgeries. “About 15 percent of the lung cancer lobectomies are done robotically now,” says Park. “Probably about 40 percent are done by video-assisted surgery. A still substantial amount are done open.” Park stresses that the most important thing for a patient to do — whether a candidate for minimally invasive surgery or not — is to find a skilled surgeon experienced with performing the procedures.

A new study found that some women with early stage breast cancer may be able to avoid chemotherapy. Dr. Larry Norton discussed these findings with PBS Newshour on June 4. According to Dr. Norton, a gene test called OncotypeDX can identify women who’s cancer is at risk for spreading. Patients with high scores benefit the most from chemotherapy, patients with low scores do not, but those in the middle are the ones that doctors have not been able to determine who should get chemo and who should not, until now.