Treatment outcomes of hepatic and pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma

Abstract

The resection of synchronous or metachronous pulmonary and liver metastasis is an aggressive treatment option for patients with stage IV colorectal cancer and has been shown to yield acceptable long-term survival. We reviewed our experience with colorectal cancer patients with both liver and lung resections to determine the efficacy of surgical resections. We performed a single institution, retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent surgical hepatic and pulmonary resection for metastatic colorectal cancer between 1995 and 2004. A total of 32 patients underwent resection of both hepatic and pulmonary metastases secondary to colorectal cancer. The 5-year overall survival from initial operation was 60.8%. The disease-free interval was 44.3 months (95% confidence interval: 24.7 and 63.8, respectively). Neither the number of pulmonary lesions nor the time interval between the primary surgery and the metastasectomy had a significant impact on survival (P = 0.134). An aggressive surgical treatment of selected colorectal cancer patients with lung and liver metastases resulted in prolonged survival. The 5-year survival rate of 60.8% with no perioperative mortality was observed in our study.