Pulmonary resection for metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma

Pulmonary metastasectomy has become the standard therapy for various metastatic malignancies to the lungs; however, few data have been available about lung metastasectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. To confirm the role for resection of pulmonary metastases for such tumors, we reviewed our institutional experience.

Between 1993 and 2005, 12 patients with pulmonary metastases from hepatocellular carcinomas underwent complete pulmonary resection. All patients had undergone curative resection of their primary hepatocellular carcinomas and also had obtained or had obtainable locoregional control of their primaries. Various perioperative variables were investigated retrospectively to analyze the possible prognostic factors for overall survival and pulmonary metastases-free survival after pulmonary metastasectomy.

Nine patients were male and three were female (median age, 53 (range, 43-80) years). Overall survival rate after metastasectomy was 80.8%, 57.7%, and 28.9% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively. Pulmonary metastases-free survival rate was 64.2%, 32.1%, and 21.4% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively. Five patients presented recurrences in the remaining liver before pulmonary metastases, but hepatic recurrences at this interval did not affect an overall survival after pulmonary metastasectomies. Two patients had undergone living-related liver transplantation. The maximum tumor size of the pulmonary metastasis < 3 cm was the only favorable prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.0006), whereas there was no significant prognostic factor for pulmonary metastases-free survival.

Pulmonary metastasectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma in selected patients was well justified when the maximum tumor size was <3 cm.