[Surgical resection of pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma]

Twelve patients with pulmonary metastases of recurrent colorectal carcinoma underwent pulmonary resection at National Ohkura Hospital. The Cumulative five-year survival rate was 60 per cent. No correlation was found between the disease-free interval and survival following thoracotomy. There was a statistically significant difference in survival rates corresponding to Duke's classification of the primary lesion. Patients with solitary lesions had a better survival rate than patients with multiple lesions. We believe that the surgical treatment of pulmonary metastases in a select group of patients, i.e., those with solitary pulmonary lesions, will prolong survival and be curative in a number of patients.