Background: The prognosis of patients with bone metastasis from primary lung cancer is poor, and the effective treatment for bone metastasis had not been established. We report a case of more than 6 years survival after a surgical resection of rib metastasis.
Case: A 56-years-old woman underwent right lower lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection for lung cancer (well differentiated adenocarcinoma, pT1N0M0, stage IA) in another hospital in July 1995. In May 2003, the patient suffered right lateral chest pain and the chest computed tomography (CT) showed an osteolytic mass of right 5th rib. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed adenocarcinoma and the tumor was diagnosed as bone metastasis from primary lung cancer. A chest wall resection for bone metastasis of right 5th rib was carried out and she underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. She is presently alive and well without recurrence more than 6 years after chest wall resection.
Conclusion: A resection of bone metastasis from lung cancer may offer the possibility of a long-term survival in selected patients.