Metastases to the lung are common for many types of cancer. Patients may have no symptoms or they may have symptoms such as shortness of breath or coughing up blood.
Standard Treatment Lung metastases are generally treated with chemotherapy directed against the primary tumor type. Occasionally tumors metastasize to form a single deposit in the lungs. The likeliest primary tumor to do this is a sarcoma , although it may occur with melanoma, kidney, colon and other primary cancers.
If the CT scan and MRI suggest that the tumor is isolated, it may be surgically removed without causing significant loss of lung function. In fact, sarcomas may metastasize slowly enough that as many as three or four discrete tumors can be removed over time. This aggressive approach should be considered in any patient with a solitary lung metastasis , although most of the time the presence of other systemic tumors is likely to limit any gains from surgery.
One problem caused by metastases to the lung and the tissue lining the lung (pleura) is the accumulation of fluid within the chest. This may make the lung collapse, creating breathing difficulties. The fluid can be removed through a needle or through a tube inserted through the skin into the chest cavity. After the fluid is removed, an irritant such as talc, tetracycline or bleomycin may be injected into the cavity to cause scarring of the tissues and prevent the reaccumulation of fluid.
