[Study on the surgical treatment for pulmonary metastasis from renal cell carcinoma]

Pulmonary resection for metastatic renal cell carcinoma were studied to assess the indication of surgical management.

Between January, 1981 and December 1994, 17 consecutive patients (14 men and 3 women) underwent complete pulmonary resection for metastatic renal carcinoma. Median age was 61 years (range, 45 to 73 years). Eleven were appeared lung metastasis after resection of primary tumor. Median time between nephrectomy and pulmonary resection was 32 months (range, 0 to 127 months).

There were no operative deaths. One patient had solitary metastasis, 4 had two, 2 had three, 2 had four, one had seven, one had eight and 6 had more than twenty-two. Segmental resection was performed in 12 patients, lobectomy in 2, lobectomy and segmentectomy in 3 and segmentectomy for total lobes in 3. Four patients had another site operation of renal metastasis, brain tumor resection, chest wall and ribs resection, contra-lateral adrenalectomy and contralateral partial nephrectomy. Median follow-up was 44 months (range, 10 to 129 months). The cause specific survival rate and disease free survival after pulmonary resection was 55 and 48 percent at 5 years and 27 and 14 percent at 10 years, respectively.

Pulmonary resection for metastatic renal cell carcinoma was considered effective in some selected slow-growing cases. Multiple and both lungs metastases is not contraindication and the patients under 10 metastatic focuses had good prognosis.