Surgical treatment of lung cancer invading the chest wall: results and prognostic factors

BACKGROUND: The study was performed to assess prognostic factors in patients with lung cancer invading the chest wall treated by surgery. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively clinical records of all patients operated on for lung cancer invading chest wall structures between 1984 and 1998. RESULTS: Two hundred one patients were operated on in this 14-year period. One hundred thirty-seven lobectomies, 55 pneumonectomies, and 9 wedge resections were performed. Extrapleural resection (when invasion was limited to the parietal pleura) and chest wall resection (in the case of invasion of deeper structures) were combined with pulmonary resection in 79 (39%) and 122 (61%) cases, respectively. Pathologic TNM stages were T3N0 in 116 (57.5%) cases, T3N1 in 52 (26%), T3N2 in 27 (13.5%), and T4N0-N1 in 6 (3%). A complete resection was achieved in 167 (83%) cases. Fourteen postoperative deaths (7%) occurred. One hundred thirty-nine patients (74%) underwent postoperative radiotherapy. Actuarial 5-year survival was 24% and 13% after complete and incomplete resection, respectively (p < 0.05). Actuarial 5-year survival after complete resection was 25% in T3N0 patients, 20% in T3N1, and 21% in T3N2. In completely resected patients, univariate and multivariate analyses identified three independent prognostic factors: nodal involvement, depth of parietal invasion, and age. Radiation therapy did not improve survival if a complete resection was possible. CONCLUSIONS: Completeness of resection, nodal involvement, depth of invasion, and age affect survival of patients with lung cancer invading the chest wall. N2 disease should not be considered a contraindication to surgery.     

Non-small cell lung cancer invading the chest wall

Non-Small cell lung cancer invading the chest wall represents an advanced stage of the disease. Chest wall resection may be achieved in up to 100% of the patients, and the ensuing defect requires to be reconstructed in 40% to 64% of cases. Once a surgical challenge, chest wall resection is no longer a technical problem and en bloc chest wall and lung resections regularly provide good results. However, survival rates are jeopardized by incompleteness of the resection and mediastinal lymph node involvement. Nowadays, the challenge is represented by the use of the other nonsurgical modalities (chemotherapy and radiation therapy) to increase the chance of performing a complete resection, the need to achieve a better control of probable lymphatic or hematogenous spread, and the reduction of the recurrence rate.     

Surgical treatment of lung cancer invading chest wall: a retrospective analysis of 110 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively assess the results of surgical treatment in a consecutive series of 110 patients with Stage IIb and IIIa non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading chest wall. METHODS: A series of 110 patients underwent surgery for Stage IIb and IIIa NSCLC with involvement of chest wall. There were 101 male and 9 female patients, mean age was 61.4 (range 32--74), 52 (47.3%) of them complaining for chest pain. Surgical procedures were pneumonectomy in seven patients (6.4%), lobectomy in 73 (66.4%), bi-lobectomy in six (5.4%) and wedge resection in 24 (21.8%). In 63 patients (57.3%) an extrapleural resection was performed while in the other 47 (42.7%) an 'en bloc' resection of tumor with chest wall was required. In 22 patients (76.3%) repair was achieved by muscle flap while in 8 (26.7%) a prosthesis was required. Five-year survival was computed using the Kaplan--Meier method; P values correspond to the log-rank test. RESULTS: There were neither intraoperative nor postoperative deaths. Postoperative staging revealed 83 T3N0M0, 17 T3N1M0 and 10 T3N2M0. Mean postoperative hospital stay was 17.7 days (range 5--40). For N0 patients 5 year survival was 47% (39/83) and no significant difference was noted when extrapleural and 'en bloc' resection groups were compared (P = 0.08). In N1/N2 patients no survival was observed (0/27) and comparison between surgical procedures was not statistically significant (P = 0.41). Moreover when N0 patients were compared with N1 patients the difference in survival was significant for both extrapleural (P = 0.02) and 'en bloc' (P = 0.04) groups. No difference was noted when the two surgical procedures were compared independently form N status (P = 0.94).Within the group of patients undergone 'en bloc' resection survival was significantly better for N0 patients as in the group of extrapleural resection. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of Stage IIb and IIIa NSCLC invading chest wall by extrapleural or 'en bloc' resection is widely adopted and justified by the good results in terms of morbidity and relief of pain. Survival is always depending on the N status.     

Surgical results of non-small cell lung cancer invading parietal pleura and chest wall

This retrospective analysis was undertaken to review our results of treatment of lung cancers with invasion of non-apical and non-vertebral chest wall structures. In summary of our experience, although relatively good prognosis can be expected in N0M0 patients with the histological type of adenocarcinoma by initial operation, distant relapse remains a major problem of the disease. Furthermore, our results are in agreement with the idea that postoperative adjuvant therapy is of little value in patients with complete resection. To ameliorate surgical outcomes, induction treatment should be considered and preoperative staging assessment needs to be strictly done for proper selection of patients with this locally advanced disease. The indication of initial operation needs to be cautiously determined for patients with this disease.     

Surgical treatment of lung cancer with chest wall invasion

From 1955 through 1987, 64 cases underwent operation at Mie University Hospital for carcinoma of the lung invading the chest wall (p-T3). According to the classification by Mishina et al, the extent of tumor invasion of the chest wall was p3a-b in 63%, p3c in 18%, and p3d in 19%. Histologically, the tumors were epidermoid carcinoma in 565, adenocarcinoma in 31%, large cell carcinoma in 11%, and small cell carcinoma in 2%. The post surgical staging of N factor was N0 in 39%, N1 in 33%, and n2 in 28%. Extrapleural resection was performed in 27 cases and extended resection (en block resection of chest wall and lung) was performed in 30 cases with an operative mortality of 0%. The actuarial three-year survival rate (Kaplan-Meier method) for patients with p3d was 18.2% but three-year survival for patients with p3a-b and p3c was more than 30%. In spite of p3a-b, however, four-year survival for patients without extended resection was decreased to 11.6%. Four-year survival of patients with adenocarcinoma, epidermoid carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma was 5.9%, 28.4% and 75% respectively, lymphatic metastases reduced survival, with a three-year survival rate of 52.8% for patients with N0 disease and 8.35 for those with N2 disease. Among patients with extended resection, four-year survival for patients 60 years of age of less was 50.8%, greater than the 13.3% four-year survival for the patients more than 61 years of age. We conclude that long-term survival can be influenced by the extent of tumor invasion. In factor, histologic type, and the patient's age, and that extended resection and adjuvant therapy should be applied for treatment of lung cancer with chest wall invasion.     

Perioperative targeting brachytherapy for lung cancer invading the chest wall

We evaluated the efficacy of perioperative targeting brachytherapy for lung cancer invading the chest wall. Between 1998 and 2003, 7 patients underwent perioperative targeting brachytherapy for lung cancer invading the chest wall. There were 5 male and 2 female patients. The mean age was 63.3 years, with a range of 45 to 77 years. All patients underwent complete resection including the chest wall combined resection. During the operation, plastic afterloading catheters fixed on the Vicryl mesh at interval of 1 cm were placed on the site of chest wall resection. From the third to sixth day after the operation, 15 to 32 Gy of radiation was delivered over 3 or 4 days using a high dose rate remote afterloading system. The area targeted for brachytherapy was determined by a computed tomography (CT) scanner translator with a computer program for radiation planning. The median postoperative hospital stay was 35 days. Local recurrences were observed in 2 patients, but there was no evidence of recurrence in the margin of the resected chest wall. We believe that this short period of treatment and the low side effects enhances the quality of the patients. Prevention of local recurrence was achieved in short term follow-up.     

Surgical treatment of lung carcinoma involving the chest wall

From 1969 to 1986, 97 patients with chest wall invasion by lung carcinoma (excluding superior sulcus tumours) underwent surgical resection in two hospitals, La Paz (Madrid) and La Fé (Valencia). The same surgical policy was used in both thoracic surgical units: extrapleural pulmonary resection when tumour involved only the parietal pleura (N = 36), and en bloc chest wall resection when the carcinoma extended into the ribs and intercostal muscles (N = 61). The tumour histology was classified according the WHO criteria. Lobectomy or bilobectomy was carried out in 72%, pneumonectomy in 18% and segmentectomy or wedge resection in 10% of the patients. The perioperative mortality was higher in the en bloc resection group 9/61 (15%) versus 2/36 (6%) for extrapleural dissection. The node staging was NO in 58/97 (60%), N1 in 16/97 (16%) and N2 in 23/97 (24%). The probability of survival was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method collecting data from the perioperative survivors only. The overall 5-year survival was 23% with no significant differences between the en bloc resection and the extrapleural lung resection groups. The most important predictor of survival was the node stage. The 5-year survival for N1 and N2 were 8% and 6%, respectively. These percentages increased to 34% when N0 patients were considered. Other predictors of survival were not significant. The authors conclude that either extrapleural or en bloc chest wall resection are both valid procedures which may be used depending on the depth of local invasion.     

Surgical management of bronchial carcinoma invading the chest wall.

In a 20-year period (1958-77) 43 patients underwent combined pulmonary and chest wall resection for bronchial carcinoma with local invasion of the thoracic wall. The clinical data, symptoms, surgical procedures, pathology, and results are reviewed. Pain was the usual presenting symptom. The operative mortality was 16%, respiratory complications causing most of the postoperative morbidity and mortality. These complications were less common after pneumonectomy. Long-term survival was achieved in only three cases with a corrected three-year survival rate of 10%. The survivors had certain pathological and operative features in common that may have prognostic significance. Recurrent carcinoma was responsible for most late deaths. Despite the poor overall prognosis, surgical management provided reasonable palliation and occasionally resulted in prolonged disease-free survival.     

Surgical resection for T4 lung cancer invading thoracic aorta

The prognosis of the lung cancer patients with aortic invasion is thought to be very poor in general. Thoracic aorta resection and reconstruction was performed in 6 patients, aortic arch in 2, descending aorta in 4. An intraoperative and a postoperative major complication occurred in each 1 patient. Five patients survived more than 1 year after operation, and 1 of them has been living without relapse for more than 5 years. Pulmonary resection with the involved aorta can be done safely using cardiopulmonary bypass, with encouraging long-term survivals in patients without N2 or N3 nodal metastasis.     

Factors affecting long-term survival after en-bloc resection of lung cancer invading the chest wall.

OBJECTIVE: Several reports emphasize the importance of en-bloc resection as the optimal surgical treatment of lung cancer with chest wall invasion. We investigated possible factors which could affect long-term survival following radical resection of these tumors. METHODS: Between 1981 and 1998, 100 patients (90 male; ten female), with a median age of 60 years (36-84), underwent radical en-bloc resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with chest wall involvement. Patients with superior sulcus tumors invading the thoracic inlet were excluded from this series. There were 43 squamous and 57 non-squamous tumors. The median number of resected ribs was three (1-5). Lung resection included 73 lobectomies, two bilobectomies, 18 pneumonectomies and seven segmentectomies. Chest wall resection also extended to the sternum in one patient, the transverse process in one, the costotransverse foramen and hemivertebrae in two. All patients had a complete resection. Sixty-three patients received postoperative radiotherapy and 12 received chemotherapy. Histological data, including differentiation and depth of chest wall invasion, were carefully reviewed. The effect of various factors on survival were studied. RESULTS: There were four in-hospital deaths. Lymph node involvement was negative on surgical specimens in 65 patients, and 28 patients had positive N1 nodes; the final histology revealed seven N2 diseases. Chest wall invasion was limited to the parietal pleura in 29 patients and included intercostal muscles, bones and extrathoracic muscles in 67, 24 and seven cases, respectively. The overall 2-year survival rate was 41%. The 5-year survival for patients with N0, N1 and N2 disease was 22, 9 and 0%, respectively. A local recurrence occurred in 13 patients, with four having a new resection and 45 patients developing systemic metastases. The nodal status (N0-1 vs. N2; P=0. 026) and the number of resected ribs(<2 vs. >2; P=0.03) were survival predictors in univariate analysis. By multivariate analysis, the two independent factors affecting long-term survival were the histological differentiation (well vs. poorly differentiated; P=0. 01) and the depth of chest wall invasion (parietal pleura vs. others; P=0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Histological differentiation and depth of chest wall involvement were the main factors affecting long-term survival in this series. The role of induction chemotherapy for tumors with poor prognosis should be investigated.     

Surgical treatment of 125 patients with non-small cell lung cancer and chest wall involvement.

BACKGROUND: The optimum operative procedure for lung cancer with chest wall invasion (T3) remains controversial. In this study results of en bloc resection and extrapleural dissection are reviewed to determine survival characteristics. METHODS: Between 1977 and 1993 125 patients underwent surgery for primary non-small cell lung cancer with chest wall invasion. Patients with superior sulcus tumours, metastatic carcinomas, synchronous tumours, or recurrences were excluded. Extrapleural dissection was performed in 73 patients and en bloc resection (range 1-4 ribs) in 52. Resection was regarded as complete in 86 and incomplete in 39 patients. Actuarial survival time was estimated and risk factors for late death were identified. RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 3.2%. (n = 4). Estimated mean five year survival was 24% for all hospital survivors (n = 121), 11% for patients with incomplete resection, and 29% for patients having a complete resection. In patients who underwent complete resection mediastinal lymph node involvement and intrapleural tumour spill worsened the prognosis. Patients with adenocarcinoma had a better chance of long term survival. No relationship was found between survival and age, type of operative procedure, depth of chest wall invasion, and postoperative radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Both operative procedures show reasonable survival results. Incomplete resection, mediastinal lymph node involvement, and intrapleural tumour spill adversely influence survival.     

胸壁结核的外科治疗

目的 探讨胸壁结核的临床特点及疗效。方法 回顾性分析28例胸壁结核患者的临床资料。所有患者均行病灶清除术治疗,术后抗结核治疗9—12个月。结果 所有患者均获得治愈,随访1-2年无复发。结论 胸壁结核是以胸壁冷脓肿为主要特点,其主要治疗方法是手术治疗结合术前、术后抗结核药物治疗,而手术成功的关键是彻底清除病灶,消灭死腔。     

Methods of skeletal reconstruction following resection of lung carcinoma invading the chest wall

The 5 per cent of patients with carcinoma of the lung directly invading the chest wall present a challenge for treatment. Complete resection of all tumor, including the chest wall, should be done. Immediate reconstruction to prevent a flail chest ensures a smooth postoperative course. Excellent palliation and a 46 per cent 5-year survival rate can be achieved if there is no spread to mediastinal lymph nodes.     

胃癌侵及胰腺的外科治疗

目的：探讨胃癌侵及胰腺外科治疗的手术适应证和术式选择。方法：回顾性分析我院1984年6月至2001年6月对58例胃癌怀疑侵及胰腺的患进行手术治疗的临床资料。结果：扩大根治切除组（联合胰腺切除）36例，经病理证实胰腺有癌细胞浸润24例（66．7％），淋巴结转移30例（83．3％），姑息切除组22例，术后并发症发生率15．5％，其中扩大根治切除组为16．7％，姑息切除组为13．6％，两差异无显性意义（P＞0．05），两组无手术死亡，随访48例，术后1、3、5年生存率扩大根治切除组分别为75．0％，38．9％，19．4％，姑息切除组分别为22．7％，9．1％，4．5％，扩大根治切除组术后1、3年生存率明显高于姑息切除组（P＜0．005），结论：对胃癌侵及胰腺的患，扩大根治切除可提高1、3年生存率，但选择适应证甚为重要。     

Clinical evaluation of surgical treatment of lung cancer involving the chest wall

Twenty-four patients with primary lung cancer involving chest wall underwent pulmonary and chest wall resections. All patients were males ranging from 38 to 74 years of age. Pain was the most frequent symptom. Twenty-three lobectomies and one pneumonectomy were performed. Resections of parietal pleura were performed in 4 patients and en block resections of chest wall were performed in 20 patients. After operation, postsurgical stage was pT3N0M0 in 16 patients, pT3N1M0 in 4 patients and pT3N2M0 in four. Operative mortality was 4.2%. Actuarial survival of 23 patients surviving operation was 45.7% at 1 year, 28.7% at 2 year and 17.2% at 3 and 5 year. Three patients who had no lymphnode metastases and no rib invasion survived more than 5 years. We concluded that long term survival can be expected in pN0 patients without invasion to the ribs.     

Surgical treatment of lung cancer extending into the thoracic wall]

In the Department of Surgery of Lungs and Mediastinum, National Research Centre of Surgery, USSR AMS, 88 patients underwent operation for lung carcinoma extending into the thoracic wall (which accounted for 2.6% of all patients who were operated on for carcinoma of the lungs) from 1963 to December 1990. Surgical treatment of such patients is the method of choice. The performance of both radical and palliative operations is expedient. The survival of patients after operation is determined by the depth of invasion of the thoracic wall by lung carcinoma and the condition of intrathoracic lymph nodes.