Long-term results following thoracotomy for metastatic bladder cancer.

Six patients, who had been treated for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and had no residual disease in the bladder or other evidence of malignancy, underwent thoracotomy and wedge resection for a solitary pulmonary metastasis. Five patients remain alive without disease at one, five, five, seven, and sixteen years, respectively. The median length of survival of these patients (five years), when contrasted to the median survival time of all patients with metastasis from bladder cancer (three months), emphasizes the importance of individualizing assessment and treatment.