Radical consolidative treatments a hope for patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Lung carcinoma is the second most common cancer diagnosis by gender, behind breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men and ranks as the first cause of tumor-related death worldwide in both sexes. Moreover, lung cancer is not often diagnosed until advanced stage disease is present. According to literature, 84% of all lung cancer cases are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (1) and within this type the proportion of patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis ranges from 46.8% to 61.2% (2). Stage IV NSCLC has limited therapeutic options and prognosis is poor with a median survival up to 12 months (3); these patients are generally not indicated for radical local treatment with curable intent and the standard treatment choice is palliative systemic management including cytotoxic chemotherapy and targeted therapy. However, stage IV NSCLC is a heterogeneous entity which includes subgroups of patients with different biological behavior and prognosis.