Clinical outcomes of lung metastasectomy in patients with colorectal cancer

AIM: To investigate prognostic factors of survival following curative, non-palliative surgical removal of lung metastases secondary to colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Between 1999 and 2009, a radical metastasectomy with curative intent was performed on lung metastases in 21 patients with CRC (15 male and 6 female; mean age: 57.4 ± 11.8 years; age range: 29-74 years) who had already undergone primary tumour resection. RESULTS: The mean number of lung metastases ranged from one to five. The mean overall survival was 71 ± 35 mo (median: 25 mo). After adjusting for potential confounders, multivariable Cox regression analyses predicted only the number of lung metastases (1 vs ≥ 2; hazard ratio: 7.60, 95% confidence interval: 1.18-17.2, P = 0.03) as an independent predictor of poor survival following lung resection for metastatic CRC. CONCLUSION: Resection of lung metastases is a safe and effective treatment in selected CRC patients with single lung metastases.