To assess the current practice of pulmonary metastasectomy at 15 European Centres. Short- and long-term outcomes were analysed.
Retrospective analysis on patients ≥18 years, who underwent curative-intent pulmonary metastasectomy (01/2010-12/2018). Data was collected on a purpose-built database (REDCap). Exclusion criteria were: previous lung/extra-pulmonary metastasectomy, pneumonectomy, non-curative intent, and evidence of extrapulmonary recurrence at the time of lung surgery.
A total of 1,647 patients (mean age 59.5 (SD = 13.1) years; 56.8% males) were included. The most common primary tumour was colorectal adenocarcinoma. The mean disease-free interval was 3.4 (SD = 3.9) years. Relevant comorbidities were observed in 53.8% patients, with a higher prevalence of metabolic disorders (32.3%). Video-assisted thoracic surgery was the chosen approach in 54.9% cases. Wedge resections were the most common operation (67.1%). Lymph node dissection was carried out in 41.4% cases. The median number of resected lesions was 1 (interquartile range 25-75%= 1-2), ranging from 1 to 57. The mean size of the metastases was 18.2 (SD = 14.1) mm, with a mean negative resection margin of 8.9 (SD = 9.4) mm. A R0 resection of all lung metastases was achieved in 95.7% cases. Thirty-day postoperative morbidity was 14.5%, with the most frequent complications being respiratory (5.6%). Thirty-day mortality was 0.4%. Five-year overall survival and recurrence-free survival were 62.0% and 29.6%, respectively.
Pulmonary metastasectomy is a low-risk procedure that provides satisfactory oncological outcomes and patient survival. Further research should aim at clarifying the many controversial aspects of its daily clinical practice.