Effect of gender on perioperative outcomes after robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy

Primary lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, causing 28% and 26% of all cancer deaths in men and women, respectively, and results in more deaths than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers combined (1). An exponential increase in lung cancer was observed in the early 1970’s due to the smoking habits of previous decades (2). However, due to different smoking behaviors among women, their peak incidence of lung cancer occurred later and at a lower level, and death rates are unlikely to equal that for male smokers as more men continue to smoke (3)