VATS is associated with a shorter time to referral to adjuvant therapy compared with thoracotomy

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Early recovery after surgery is an important parameter to ensure that the adjuvant treatment plan is not disrupted. <bold>Aims:</bold> The study aimed to explore how Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) influences the timeframe for chemotherapy referral and the tolerance to chemotherapy among individuals undergoing lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer. <bold>Methods:</bold> We retrospectively analyzed data from 612 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent lung resection at our clinic from January 2014 to December 2021. The study included patients who underwent lobectomy or bilobectomy along with systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection and received at least one cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy. <bold>Results:</bold> A total of 144 eligible patients were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 61.6±7.9 years. Patients who underwent Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) showed lower mean Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores and shorter hospital stays compared to those who underwent thoracotomy. The time taken to start chemotherapy post-surgery was significantly shorter in the VATS group compared to thoracotomy (48.9±17.6 days vs. 58.1±27.6 days, p=0.049). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> The results of this study have shown that VATS shortens the surgery-to-adjuvant treatment interval parallel to early recovery in the postoperative period, as evidenced by reduced hospitalization durations and lower VAS scores.