[Different histological findings in two specimens from pulmonary metastasectomy in the same patient]

Out of the 3310 thoracic surgical procedures performed between 1980 and 2000 at the Department of Surgery of the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, 258 were pulmonary metastasectomies involving 236 patients. Primary tumors were the following in order of decreasing frequency: testicular cancer, colorectal cancer, renal cancer, soft tissue tumor, breast cancer and others.

In the present study the authors report two patients with multiple pulmonary metastases. The primary tumor was non-seminoma testicular cancer in case one and endometrial cancer in case two (previously treated for thyroid cancer). Histological examination of resected specimens revealed unsuspected focal inactive tuberculosis in the first case and medullary thyroid cancer in the second.

In the reported two cases the following conditions of metastasectomy were given: 1. satisfactory cardiopulmonary status, 2. possibility of surgical radicality, 3. locoregional disease control, 4. prior chemotherapy in chemosensitive tumor (case one). The generally accepted condition of metastasectomy-lack of clinically manifest disease in other distant organs--was not fulfilled in case two (suspected liver metastases).