A clinicopathological study of postoperative pulmonary metastasis of uterine cervical carcinomas.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinicopathological backgrounds and prognostic factors of uterine cervical carcinomas metastatic to the lung.


METHODS
A total of 519 patients with invasive cervical carcinoma (Stage pTIb-IIb) treated by abdominal radical hysterectomy at the Saitama Cancer Center from January 1, 1976 to December 31, 1989 were analyzed clinicopathologically.


RESULTS
The frequencies of pulmonary metastasis were 6.4% (24/377) and 11.3% (16/142) in patients with negative and positive pelvic lymph nodes, respectively. Among 24 negative lymph node patients, 15 had pulmonary metastasis only. The overall 5-year survival rate of these 15 patients was 36% after relapse. Of the 15, the prognosis of 12 patients with 1-3 pulmonary metastases only was better, that is, 46% after surgical resection (mean size of resectable tumor = 2.8 cm) and/or chemotherapy. But the other patients died within 3.3 years after relapse.


CONCLUSIONS
The occurrence of pulmonary metastasis only, its number (1-3) and size (mean size = 2.8 cm), and no lymph node metastasis are important prognostic factors. For these patients, active surgical resection of the pulmonary lesion(s) and further chemotherapy are recommended in order to improve their prognosis.
Shiromizu
K
K
Division of Gynecology, Saitama Cancer Center, Japan.
Kasamatsu
T
T
Takahashi
M
M
Kikuchi
A
A
Yoshinari
T
T
Matsuzawa
M
M
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*