European Guidelines for the Surgical Management of Pure Ground-Glass Opacities and Part-Solid Nodules: Task Force of the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons

The European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons has collaborated to produce a review on the management of pure ground-glass and part-solid pulmonary nodules. The increase in CT scanning for the detection of early stage lung cancer is giving rise to a higher proportion of lesions presenting on the ground-glass to part-solid spectrum. With surgical resection being the gold standard, there is a growing demand for guidelines pertaining to the surgical management of such nodules. The scope of these guidelines covers main areas of interest as follows: managing solitary or multiple pure ground-glass nodules and solitary part-solid nodules, identifying non-palpable lesions, the role of minimally invasive surgery, and the decision making behind sublobar versus lobar resection.