Surgeons at Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine have performed a double-lung transplant for a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer through its double-lung replacement and multidisciplinary care program, a first-of-its-kind initiative reserved for patients whose cancers do not respond to standard treatments.
The patient was a 42-year-old woman. Originally diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2017, she had previously undergone a liver transplant after the cancer had spread to her liver in 2020. Six months after the liver transplant, the cancer was found to have spread to her lungs, according to a Sept. 25 news release from Northwestern.
The double-lung transplant was performed on June 3 and the patient was discharged one week later. Based on available testing, the patient has no remaining signs of cancer, Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, said in the release.
"While we're optimistic about her future, it’s important to approach this with cautious optimism as further research is needed to understand the long-term outcomes," Dr. Bharat said.
The procedure was performed at the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute in Chicago. It involves removing the cancerous lungs and lymph nodes, and washing the airways and chest cavity to reduce the risk of cancer cells spreading, the release said.
The institute is the only center in the U.S. offering this treatment to lung cancer patients "without any options," according to the release.