Methods: In this single-center study, 33 patients (17 males, 16 females; mean age 55.6 years) who underwent metastasectomy due to lung metastases of colorectal cancer in our clinic between March 1998 and June 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic factors associated with survival were investigated.

Results: The median survival of the patients was 74 months (range 6 to 99 months) and five-year survival rate was 62%. The median, one, three, and five-year survival rates were 49 months, 94%, 70%, and 33% in males respectively, while the corresponding figures for female patients were 92 months, 100%, 89%, and 89%, respectively (p=0.001). In patients with a pre-thoracotomy carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level below 5 ng/mL, one, three and five-year survival rates were 100%, 89%, and 75% respectively, while the corresponding figures for those patients with a CEA level above 5 ng/mL were 83%, 42%, and 0%, respectively (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Although metastasectomy is associated with improved survival in lung metastases of colorectal cancer, prognostic factors have not been fully elucidated. Our findings suggest that female gender and a preoperative CEA level below 5 ng/mL are more eligible candidates for metastasectomy.