Surgical Treatment for Lung Metastases from Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Sixty-one patients underwent pulmonary resection for metastatic colorectal cancer. Overall 5-and 10-year survival rates were 50% and 43% respectively. However, median survival of palliative resected or non-resected cases was 15 and 12 months, respectively. Prethoracotomy serum carcinoembryonic antigen level, number of lung metastases, intrathoracic lavage cytology, and mediastinal lymphnode metastases were found to be prognostic factors. Furthermore, survival of the 25 patients treated with Nd : YAG-Laser was longer than those treated with other tools. It was suggested that Nd : YAG-Laser was effective for preserving pulmonary function and enabled repeat thoracotomy and extrapulmonary resections.