BACKGROUND: To overcome the poor prognosis of lung cancer with pleural dissemination, the authors developed postoperative intrathoracic chemo-thermotherapy (PICT). In this report, they present the long-term results for 31 consecutive patients who underwent resection, followed by PICT for lung cancer with pleural dissemination between April 1985 and December 1991. METHODS: Among the patients, there were 26 cases of adenocarcinoma, 3 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, and 1 case each of large and adenosquamous cell carcinoma. Twenty-four of these patients had an initial diagnosis of pleural involvement at thoracotomy. The other seven patients had massive malignant effusion at the time of the initial diagnosis. PICT was started between days 10 to 14 postoperatively. When possible, three courses of this procedure were administered at intervals of 5-7 days. RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative and 5-year local relapse-free survival rates were 24.6% and 76.3%, respectively. The 3-year and 5-year cumulative survival rates for 14 patients without mediastinal lymph node involvement were 68.4% and 42.7%, respectively. Those rates for 17 patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement were 22.7% and 0%, respectively. The 3-year survival rate in the former group was significantly better than that in the latter group. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest that in patients with pleural dissemination, PICT may be beneficial for regional disease control and improvement of survival, particularly for patients without mediastinal lymph node involvement.
BACKGROUND: To overcome the poor prognosis of lung cancer with pleural dissemination, the authors developed postoperative intrathoracic chemo-thermotherapy (PICT). In this report, they present the long-term results for 31 consecutive patients who underwent resection, followed by PICT for lung cancer with pleural dissemination between April 1985 and December 1991. METHODS: Among the patients, there were 26 cases of adenocarcinoma, 3 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, and 1 case each of large and adenosquamous cell carcinoma. Twenty-four of these patients had an initial diagnosis of pleural involvement at thoracotomy. The other seven patients had massive malignant effusion at the time of the initial diagnosis. PICT was started between days 10 to 14 postoperatively. When possible, three courses of this procedure were administered at intervals of 5-7 days. RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative and 5-year local relapse-free survival rates were 24.6% and 76.3%, respectively. The 3-year and 5-year cumulative survival rates for 14 patients without mediastinal lymph node involvement were 68.4% and 42.7%, respectively. Those rates for 17 patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement were 22.7% and 0%, respectively. The 3-year survival rate in the former group was significantly better than that in the latter group. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest that in patients with pleural dissemination, PICT may be beneficial for regional disease control and improvement of survival, particularly for patients without mediastinal lymph node involvement.
Authors: H Petra Kok; Erik N K Cressman; Wim Ceelen; Christopher L Brace; Robert Ivkov; Holger Grüll; Gail Ter Haar; Peter Wust; Johannes Crezee Journal: Int J Hyperthermia Date: 2020 Impact factor: 3.914