(Wendy Sheridan found an abstract to this recent article (2007) and posted it on the WebCafe:
blcwebcafe.org/metatcc.asp
I obtained a copy of the entire article - if interested, let me know.)
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This was a small Japanese study (48 patients) where some patients had their sites of metastasis surgically removed.
15 patients were metastatic at original diagnosis and 33 developed metastasis later.
37 patients had distant metastasis (lymph nodes or visceral) and 11 had local recurrence that was not resectable...
Patients underwent a variety of chemo regimens.
12 patients had the sites of metastasis surgically removed (metastasectomy) to render them disease-free at some point during treatment.
The criteria for metastasectomy were 1) that metastasis is at a single organ with a small number of mestastases (excluding bone) and, 2) the patient had a good performance status (able to withstand treatment) and, 3) good response to chemo.
Median survival was 42 months for those patients with metastasectomy compared to 10 months without.
There were a number of limitations with this study since it was small and retrospective in nature.
The authors conclude that "The number of chemotherapy cycles, sites of metastasis and metastasectomy had an impact on survival. In selected patients, a multimodal approach including metastasectomy may contribute to long-term disease control."
