Purpose: To determine the role of lung transplantation in the treatment of patients presenting with bronchogenic carcinoma and end-stage lung disease.
Methods: An international survey was conducted to determine the outcome of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma in the explanted lung at the time of transplantation. A group of 69 patients was collected from 33 centers.
Results: Twenty-six patients underwent 29 lung transplantations for advanced multifocal bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) as the primary indication for transplantation, and 13 developed a recurrence, with an overall 5-year actuarial survival of 39%. Incidental bronchogenic carcinomas classified as stage I (n = 22), II (n = 12), and III (n = 2), or as incidental multifocal BAC (n = 7), were found in the explanted lung of the remaining 43 patients. The 5-year actuarial survival was 51% in patients with stage I carcinomas, and was significantly better than for patients with stage II and III carcinomas (survival of 14%) or with incidental multifocal BAC (survival of 23%). Time from transplantation to recurrence and from recurrence to death was significantly longer in patients with multifocal BAC than in patients with other types of bronchogenic carcinoma. In addition, the site of recurrence was limited to the transplanted lung in 88% of the patients with multifocal BAC, whereas it was always widespread in patients with other types of bronchogenic carcinoma.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that long-term survival can be achieved after lung transplantation in patients with stage I bronchogenic carcinoma or with advanced multifocal BAC.