Original article
General thoracic
Gynecologic Cancers: Factors Affecting Survival After Pulmonary Metastasectomy

Presented at the Poster Session of the Fifty-second Annual Meeting of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Orlando, FL, Nov 10–12, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.01.068Get rights and content

Background

Little information is available regarding long-term survival after pulmonary metastasectomy for gynecologic malignancies.

Methods

All patients who underwent pulmonary resection for gynecologic malignancies at our institution between January 1985 and June 2001 were reviewed. Factors affecting long-term survival were analyzed.

Results

There were 103 patients, 70 of whom had metastatic disease limited to the lungs. Median age of these 70 patients was 59.4 years (range, 31 to 80 years). The primary tumor originated in the uterine corpus in 37 patients, endometrium in 23, cervix in 7, ovaries in 2, and vagina in 1. Histopathology was leiomyosarcoma in 29 patients, adenocarcinoma in 23, other sarcoma in 11, squamous cell carcinoma in 5, and choriocarcinoma and endolymphatic stromal myosis in 1 each. The median time interval between the first gynecologic procedure and pulmonary resection was 24 months (range, 0 to 237 months). A wedge excision was performed in 44 patients, lobectomy in 14, bilobectomy in 2, pneumonectomy in 1, and a combination in 9. Five patients (7%) had an incomplete resection. Eighteen patients (25.7%) developed at least one complication and 1 died (operative mortality, 1.4%). At last follow-up, 35 had died, and the median follow-up among those who were still alive was 36 months (range, 6 months to 13 years). Five-year and 10-year survival was 46.8% (95% confidence interval, 34.2% to 63.0%) and 34.3% (95% confidence interval, 19.7% to 52.5%), respectively. Factors that adversely affected survival include a disease-free interval between the first gynecologic procedure and pulmonary resection of less than 24 months (p = 0.004) and a primary site located in the cervix (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Pulmonary resection for metastatic gynecologic cancer in selected patients is safe and effective. Both a short disease-free interval between the primary gynecologic procedure and pulmonary metastasectomy, and a primary cervical tumor had an adverse effect on survival.

Section snippets

Material and Methods

All patients, who underwent pulmonary resection for metastatic gynecologic cancers between January 1985 and June 2001 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, were reviewed. There were a total of 103 patients. Eighteen of these patients also had metastases to other locations, and 15 had pulmonary excision for diagnostic purposes only. These 33 patients were excluded from further analysis. The medical records of the remaining 70 patients were analyzed for patient demographics, location of

Results

The median age of the 70 patients was 59.4 years (range, 31 to 80 years). The primary tumor originated in the uterine corpus in 37 patients (52.9%), endometrium in 23 (32.9%), cervix in 7 (10.0%), ovaries in 2 (2.8%), and vagina in 1 (1.4%). Histopathology was leiomyosarcoma in 29 patients (41.4%), adenocarcinoma in 23 (32.9%), other sarcoma in 11 (15.8%), squamous cell carcinoma in 5 (7.1%), and choriocarcinoma and endolymphatic stromal myosis in 1 each (1.4%). The initial gynecologic

Comment

Approximately 80,000 women in 2006 in the United States will develop gynecologic cancers, 36% of whom will eventually die from their disease [16]. Lung metastases are present in approximately 30% of these patients, and the lung is the only site of metastases in 20% [12]. Although pulmonary metastases from gynecologic cancers are not uncommon and occur in 2% to 28% of patients, little information is available regarding the efficacy of pulmonary metastasectomy.

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References (30)

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