Surgical Resection of Solitary Metastatic Liver Tumor Arising From Lung Cancer: A Case Series

Abstract

Resectability of hepatic metastases which have developed from lung cancer is limited and only a few reports have been published. We report two cases of a surgical resection of liver metastases arising from lung cancer. A 77-year-old male underwent a lower left lobectomy to treat a primary large cell lung carcinoma. Eight months later, abdominal computed tomography revealed a slightly enhanced heterogeneous tumor measuring 50 mm in diameter in the right liver, segment 8. We performed a hepatic anterior sectionectomy. The pathological findings were similar to those of the primary carcinoma. After six months, there was no evidence of a recurring lesion. A 65-year-old female underwent an upper right lobectomy to treat a primary adenocarcinoma. Twenty months later, abdominal computed tomography revealed a heterogeneous tumor measuring 20 mm in diameter in the right liver, segment 7. We performed a hepatic posterior sectionectomy. The pathological findings were similar to those of the primary lung carcinoma. After twenty months, the patient died from an unresectable recurrent carcinoma in the lung and brain. No recurrence was detected in the liver. We recommend that surgical resection be considered for solitary metastatic liver tumors which develop from lung cancer.