Postoperative mortality in lung cancer patients.

Surgery for lung cancer frequently results in serious life-threatening complications, and the surgery itself may become the cause of death. Mortality within 30 days following lung cancer surgery ranges of 0.6-5.2%, as reported from a study of a great many patients (more than 1,000). Surgical mortality is high among elderly patients and those suffering from compromised respiratory functions. When stratified by surgical procedures, mortality was high after pneumonectomy or, in particular, after pneumonectomy of the right lung. Surgical mortality was also higher in hospitals where the number of lung cancer surgeries was limited, compared to those where many cases are normally handled. Surgical mortality involving lung cancer patients was lower in reports from Japan in comparison with those from the Western world. According to a report by the Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry, the 30-day mortality of lung cancer surgery is 1.4%, and in-hospital mortality is 1.7%.