Thoracic E04: Operability, Resectability, and Surgical Principles

Welcome back to Rad Onc Smart Review: Thoracic Oncology Edition. Episode 4 separates three questions that are too often collapsed into the phrase surgical candidate: Can the patient tolerate the proposed operation? Can the cancer be completely removed by a reasonable operation? And even if both are possible, is surgery the right oncologic strategy for this patient? We apply those distinctions to pulmonary reserve, cardiac risk, frailty, extent of resection, nodal disease, margin feasibility, and patient preference. The result is a clearer way to defend curative surgery, a nonsurgical local option, or a multimodality sequence without hiding the real limiting factor.