En bloc (non-chest wall) resection for bronchogenic carcinoma with parietal fixation. Factors affecting survival

Seventy-three patients (57 men and 16 women) underwent en bloc resection of lung and attached parietes between 1970 and 1982. All patients had documented malignant pleural invasion. Chest wall parietal pleura was invaded in 33 patients, pericardium in 14, phrenic or vagus nerve in nine, left atrium in five, superior vena cava in four, esophagus in two, diaphragm in one, and multiple structures in five. No patient underwent chest wall resection. Parietal pleurectomy was performed in all patients with involvement of the chest wall parietal pleura; 37 lobectomies and 36 pneumonectomies were performed. Operative mortality was 12.3%. The actuarial overall 5 year survival rate (Kaplan-Meier method) was 39.7%. We conclude that en bloc resection for primary bronchogenic carcinoma with invasion of adjacent intrathoracic structures, although associated with a significant mortality, can be performed with a reasonable likelihood of long-term survival.