Pronóstico de las metástasis pulmonares en el cáncer colorrectal

Objective

To evaluate survival, treatment and prognostic factors in patients with pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer.

Material and methods

A descriptive review was performed of 1018 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in Txagorritxu Hospital from 1998 to 2008.

Results

Pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer developed in 80 patients but there were other sites of recurrence in all but 26 of these patients. Pulmonary resection was performed in eight patients and the median overall survival was 60 months. The probability of survival at 5 years was more than 40%. Survival in patients without surgery was 12 months.

Conclusions

Pulmonary surgery increased survival in a substantial percentage of patients with low morbidity and mortality. The factors to be considered when indicating surgery are the patient's clinical status and the possibility of optimal surgery without high risk. There are no established prognostic factors of survival that contraindicate, per se, surgery as the standard treatment.