Immune Response Following Lobectomy Along With or Without Bilateral Transcervical Mediastinal Lymphadenectomy

Any kind of anatomical lung resection for lung cancer with curative intent has to be accompanied by formal mediastinal lymph node dissection. Video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy through a cervical access (VAMLA) along with thoracoscopic lobectomies in the same setting offers improved radicality through bilateral mediastinal dissection, provide accurate staging, does not require single lung ventilation and hence ideally supports the concept of minimally invasive surgery. Due to the VAMLA associated radicality, the investigator believes that using of VAMLA along with lobectomy could improve the oncological outcome of lung cancer patients. Furthermore, the absence of single lung ventilation during VAMLA could attenuate the surgically induced immunosuppression.