A first attempt to establish a definition of oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer by a European consensus group

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with metastatic NSCLC generally considered to be incurable and refractory and thus associated with a poor survival outcome (1). However, for a specific subset of metastatic NSCLC characterized by few metastatic lesions, known as oligometastatic disease, long- term survival can be empirically expected with local radical therapy. Indeed, the current versions of both the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines refer to this disease subset as a distinct entity to be treated with a specific strategy in order to potentially achieve long-term survival (2,3).