The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a combined treatment modality of salvage chemotherapy and pulmonary resection in chemo-resistant/relapsed gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) with lung metastasis and identify predictors of treatment failure. Data of patients with chemo-resistant/relapsed GTN with lung metastasis who received salvage chemotherapy combined with pulmonary resection were retrospectively analyzed. Among 134 included patients, the number of preoperative chemotherapy regimens ranged from 2−8 (median, 3), and courses ranged from 4−37 (median, 14). Pulmonary lobectomies, segmentectomies, wedge resections, and lobectomies plus wedge resections were performed in 84, 5, 35, and 10 patients, respectively. After completion of treatment, 130 (97.0%) patients achieved complete remission. In the entire cohort, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 87.6%. OS rates were similar between stage III and stage IV disease cohorts (89.4% vs. 75.0%, p = 0.137). Preoperative β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels > 10 IU/L (p = 0.027) and number of preoperative chemotherapy regimens > 3 (p = 0.018) were predictors of treatment failure. The combined treatment modality of salvage chemotherapy and pulmonary resection is effective in patients with chemo-resistant/relapsed GTN with lung metastasis, improving their prognoses. Patients with preoperative serum β-hCG >10 IU/L and those with >3 chemotherapy regimens preoperatively may not benefit from this multidisciplinary treatment.
Keywords: chemo-resistance; gestational trophoblastic neoplasia; lung metastasis; pulmonary resection; relapse; salvage chemotherapy.