Pulmonary Metastasectomy for Colorectal Carcinoma

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Surgical resection is an important curative treatment for pulmonary metastases from colorectal adenocarcinoma. We analyzed the outcomes and the prognostic factors related to the post operative mortality after surgical resection for pulmonary metastases from colorectal adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1994 and December 2009, 28 patients underwent complete pulmonary resection of metastatic colorectal carcinoma. We performed a retrospective review of the patient's characteristics and the factors affecting survival. Survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and comparison between groups was performed by a log-rank analysis. RESULTS: The median survival was 53.07 months (Kaplan-Meier method). The number of pulmonary metastases (p=0.0151) and a prethoracotomy carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level over 5 ng/mL (p=0.0217) were significantly related with survival. CONCLUSION: The prethoracotomy CEA level and the number of metastases were significantly related with the survival rate. Resection of pulmonary metastatic lung lesion from colorectal cancer may improve the survival rate in a selected group of patients.