[Surgery for multiple primary lung cancers]

Thirty-eight patients (3.4%) of multiple primary lung cancers were treated among 1,106 patients of lung cancer at Nagoya City University Hospital. Twenty-eight patients had multiple lung lesions at the same time. Ten had the second primary lung cancer from 5 to 12 years after the first operation. Thirty-six patients had the second operation, and two had adjuvant therapy for lung cancer. Their 5 year survival rate was 36%. Especially of the patients with stage I lung cancer, 5 year survival rate was 65%. Radical but less invasive operation like VATS should be chosen for their treatment.