Clinical research advances in thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology in 2025: a panoramic narrative review.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

The year 2025 brought important refinements in thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology, particularly in risk-adapted screening, biomarker-guided perioperative therapy, minimally invasive surgery, and perioperative recovery. This narrative review summarizes clinically relevant evidence reported in 2025 and discusses how these updates may influence multidisciplinary practice.

METHODS

We conducted a narrative review of literature and conference reports published or presented between January 1 and December 31, 2025. PubMed, Google Scholar, and the official abstract proceedings/websites of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) were searched using combinations of disease-, treatment-, and surgery-related keywords. Earlier pivotal trials were cited selectively to provide background context where needed.

KEY CONTENT AND FINDINGS: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) updated lung cancer screening criteria toward broader risk inclusion. In resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 2025 data further refined perioperative strategies for molecularly selected and driver-negative populations, including long-term outcomes from immunotherapy trials and phase III evidence for neoadjuvant targeted therapy. Robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) continued to show advantages in selected complex settings, especially after induction treatment. Progress in mesothelioma, esophageal cancer, perioperative rehabilitation, and digital symptom monitoring also underscored the increasing importance of whole-patient care. However, several emerging tools, including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted models, still require prospective validation, standardization, and broader accessibility before routine implementation.

CONCLUSIONS

Recent advances in thoracic oncology increasingly support a more precise, multidisciplinary, and patient-centered model of care. The most meaningful progress in 2025 lay not only in new treatments, but also in better integration of molecular stratification, surgical decision-making, and perioperative management.