A retrospective study suggests that surgery for lung cancer in patients with disseminated malignancy (DMa) may be relatively safe, reports Medscape. 

After controlling for preoperative and intraoperative differences, the team found no significant differences in the rates of 30-day overall and serious morbidity or mortality between patients with and without DMa.

Patients with DMa were less likely to have a prolonged hospital stay and to be discharged to a facility (p<0.05), the researchers report in Surgery, online December 20. Subgroup analyses by diagnosis and procedure type and diagnosis had similar results.

“We were surprised by these results,” senior author Dr. Robert J. Canter, also at UC Davis, told Reuters Health by email.

“This study helps us better understand the acute risk of thoracic surgery for patients with advanced cancer because lung resections are commonly performed in patients with metastatic disease to the lung and are also advocated in select patients with primary lung cancer,” he said. “It is important to identify subgroups of DMa patients for whom surgical intervention may be safe and feasible.”

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