[Metachronous bronchial neoplasm. 20 cases surgically treated]

The authors present a series of twenty metachronous lung carcinomas operated upon in the Thoracic Surgery Unit of Nancy between 1975 and 1987. These lesions occur after a first lung tumor resected for stade 1 TNM in 19 cases, with a 59 month's mean free interval and they are surgically treated by 14 controlateral lobectomies and 6 completion pneumonectomies. In spite of 4 post-operative deaths, the survival rates reach 51% at 3 years and 32% at 5 years. This study with a review of the literature emphasize the relatively high incidence of metachronous lung carcinomas in the patient resected for a tumor of good pronostic factors, their occurrence after a prolonged interval, the difficulty to prove their primary nature and the justification of a surgical approach because the long-term results are comparable with that of patients operated upon for a single carcinoma.