Thoracoscopic pulmonary metastasectomy in metastatic colorectal cancer: Surgical outcomes and prognostic factors

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to confirm the effectiveness of thoracoscopic metastasectomy for colorectal cancer (CRC) and determine its prognostic factors. METHODS: Of the 181 patients who underwent video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for pulmonary metastases from CRC between 2011 and 2017, 173 were retrospectively reviewed. Surgical outcomes, long‐term survival, and the factors affecting the prognosis were analyzed. RESULTS: The patients in the study were predominantly male (n = 104, 60.1%), and the median age was 65 years (range, 25–83 years). The median follow‐up time was 46 months (range, 0–114 months). The surgical procedures were 156 wedge resections, five segmentectomies, and 12 lobectomies. Conversion to thoracotomy was required in nine patients. The postoperative complication rate was 2.9%, and the in‐hospital mortality rate was 1.2%. The overall 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year survival rates were 94.8%, 70.6%, and 51.8%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the prognostic factors for survival were age (p = 0.027), pathological stage of CRC (p = 0.019), prior extrathoracic metastasis (p = 0.005), preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen level (p = 0.020), number of pulmonary metastases (p = 0.011), and disease‐free interval (p = 0.026). In the multivariate analysis, two factors were related to prognosis: age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.881; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.189–2.976; p = 0.007) and prior extrathoracic metastasis (HR, 2.170; 95% CI; 1.269–3.711; p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: VATS for pulmonary metastasectomy for CRC can be performed relatively safely, and our results regarding long‐term survival are comparable with those of other studies. In this study, older age (≥70 years) and prior extrathoracic metastasis were independent prognostic factors of poor prognosis.