Saving time is saving lives: a delayed lobectomy predicts poorer overall survival in patients with clinical stage IA squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

A timely treatment of patients with malignancies generally portends better clinical outcomes—a finding which has been consistently replicated for both systemic and local therapies. In this regard, studies conducted in patients with bladder and esophageal tumors have shown that a prolonged time from diagnosis to surgery can yield to pathological upstaging (1,2). Similarly, a delay in radiotherapy has been associated with an increased risk of local recurrence in head and neck malignancies (3).