Surgical treatment of pulmonary metastases from uterine cervical cancer. Operation method by lung tumor size.

Between 1959 and 1986, 32 patients with pulmonary metastatic tumors from squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix underwent pulmonary resection. The method of pulmonary resection was correlated with the pathology of the metastases. In 20 patients with pulmonary metastatic lesions 3 cm in diameter or larger, secondary lymph node involvement was observed in 65% and microscopic satellite lesions around the main metastatic lesion were seen in 50%. On the other hand, in none of 12 patients having metastatic lesions smaller than 3 cm was there accompanying lymph node involvement, and microscopic satellite lesions were observed in only one patient among them. Consequently, we concluded that wedge resection with a disease-free margin of 2 cm or a little more from the tumor edge was appropriate for lesions smaller than 3 cm in diameter, and lobectomy with lymph node dissection was necessary for lesions 3 cm in diameter or more.