1995 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 173-179
Resection of pulmonary metastases was performed in 38 patients. The cumulative 5-year survival rate after thoracotomy was 26.5%. The number of pulmonary metastases (N), tumor doubling time (TDT), size of pulmonary metastases (R), disease-free interval (DFI), primary tumor histology, the use or non-use of postoperative chemotherapy, and the presence or absence of metastases in other organs showed no significant correlation with postoperative survival. The relationship of survival to compound indices calculated by the arithmetical combination of prognostic factors was also investigated. TDT/N (p=0.0045) and TDT/R (p=0.0150) were significantly related to longer survival. Other compound indices were not related to survival; DFI/N and DFI/R. Statistically significant criteria can be determined by the arithmetical combination of prognostic factors. TDT/N, which can be explained as the reciprocal of the product of the growth rate and the lung colonizing potential, was found to be the most valuable prognostic indicator. Resection of metastatic pulmonary tumors is indicated for patients with ratios greater than 30.
