Outcomes of surgery in lung cancer patients with schizophrenia

There are very few reports regarding the outcome of lung cancer surgery in patients with schizophrenia, and the clinical features of such patients are still unclear.

From 2004 to 2012, 11 lung cancer patients (six male, five female; mean age, 62.7 years) with schizophrenia underwent lung resections at our institutions. All patients had been institutionalized because they were unable to live independently at home. We retrospectively evaluated their postoperative clinical outcomes and long-term results.

Ten of the 11 patients had comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Preoperatively, two patients had a history of treatment for other primary cancers in other organs, and one was on hemodialysis. A lobectomy was performed in nine patients, a segmentectomy in one, and a partial resection in one. There were no hospital deaths. The postoperative morbidity included two cases of pneumonia, one of atelectasis, and one of prolonged air leakage lasting more than 7 days. Wandering was postoperatively observed in two patients; one of these fell and fractured the left femur. At the time of our investigation, two patients were deceased, and the overall 5-year survival rate was 74.1 %.

The postoperative morbidity and long-term results of schizophrenic patients with lung cancer were acceptable. Therefore, even in patients with schizophrenia, surgical treatment for lung cancer should be recommended when deemed to be necessary.