Pulmonary Metastasis of Carcinoma of the Cervix: a Retrospective Study

The medical records of 243 patients admitted over a five-year period with a diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix were reviewed to determine (1) the frequency of pulmonary metastasis, (2) the relationship between the stage of the primary lesion and the incidence of pulmonary metastasis, and (3) the relationship between the disease-free interval and the incidence of pulmonary metastasis. We found that pulmonary metastasis had developed in 22 of 243 patients. Pulmonary metastasis occurred in 4.24% of all patients with Stage I carcinoma of the cervix; in 13% of all patients with Stage II; 7.4% of all patients with Stage III; and 57% of all patients with Stage IV disease. The average disease-free interval was 39 months in Stage I disease; 37.3 months in Stage II disease; 18 months in Stage III disease; and less than one month in Stage IV disease. The most common roentgenographic pattern was that of multiple pulmonary nodules (13 of 22 patients). Twenty-five percent (five of 20) of patients with pulmonary metastasis had no evidence of other metastasis.