[Results of surgical treatment of T4 lung cancer]

A total of 381 patients with primary lung cancer including 30 cases of T4 lesion, were surgically treated at our hospital from June 1975 through July 1996. Extended resection was performed in 11 patients. The 5-year survival rate after operation for all cases of T4 lung cancer, including one with operative death was 15.2%. Six patients who had curative operation showed no significant prolonged survival when compared to 24 patients who resulted in non-curative operation, but the median survival time of the former was longer than that of the latter. Six patients survived over 3 years; malignant pleurisy and/or intrathoracic dissemination of lung cancer were existed in 3 cases of those patients. In conclusion, extended resection for patients with T4 lung cancer should be limited to patients who are expected to have curative operation.