The efficacy of surgery or radiotherapy as conventional treatment for stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is limited. Recent studies have pointed out that preoperative chemotherapy may improve survival. To reconcile the two approaches, we undertook a multidisciplinary randomized trial to examine the possible synergism between preoperative chemotherapy and surgery in improved survival. Stage IIIA NSCLC patients were randomly assigned to receive either three preoperative courses of mitomycin/ifosfamide/cisplatin chemotherapy and surgery or surgery alone. The median survival was significantly greater in the chemotherapy plus surgery group than in the surgery group (26 months v 8 months; P < .001). However, the prognostic value of the mutated K-ras gene data presented awaits the analysis of larger sample populations. Similarly, the role of high-dose cisplatin in inducing higher pathologic complete remissions has to be corroborated in future randomized trials.