Isolated Lung Perfusion for the Treatment of Inoperable Pulmonary Malignancies

Primary and metastatic tumors involving the lungs cause considerable morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Approximately 155,000 Americans will succumb to lung cancer in 2002 (1). Many of these individuals will present with tumors that are confined to the chest, yet are unresectable owing to anatomic or physiologic limitations. Currently, median survival of patients with limited-stage small-cell or stage IIIA/B non-small-cell lung cancers treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation approximates 14 mo (2). Whereas most of these individuals succumb to extrathoracic metastatic disease, a significant number develop life-threatening complications owing to uncontrolled growth of their primary tumors. Recalcitrant local disease following definitive induction therapy often precedes the development of systemic metastases in lung cancer patients.