Prolonged survival after repeat resection of pulmonary metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma

We report a patient in whom two pulmonary resections were performed for lung metastasis after hepatic resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A 56-year-old Japanese man with an 8-year history of chronic liver disease was admitted with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and a liver tumor that had been detected by ultrasonography. Computed tomography showed a 6-cm tumor in the medial segment of the liver, and partial resection of the medial segment was performed. Thirty-six months after the first operation, pulmonary resection was performed for a solitary metastasis in the left lung. Fifty-one months after the second operation, a solitary metastatic tumor was detected in the right lung, without any evidence of recurrence or other metastatic foci, and thoracoscopic partial resection of the right lung was performed as the third operation. The patient is alive 36 months after the second pulmonary resection, has a normal AFP value, and shows no signs of recurrent or metastatic foci. Repeat pulmonary resection for metastasis from HCC resulted in long-term survival in this patient. Received: September 21, 2001 / Accepted: April 2, 2002