Liver transplantation for unresectable hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer: literature review

Abstract

Colorectal cancer represents one of the most common malignancies reported worldwide, associated with an increased risk of hepatic metastases development. Historically, the development of liver metastases from colorectal cancer has been associated with extremely poor rates in terms of survival. Improvement of the surgical techniques, as well as of the perioperative outcomes, in association with the development of new chemotherapeutic agents lead to a better survival; however, in certain cases with unresectable liver metastases, association of chemotherapy and resection can be no longer feasible due to the extent of the disease. In such cases liver transplantation has been proposed with promising results. However, this therapeutic strategy is only indicated when the absence of extrahepatic disease is documented. This is a literature review of the largest studies which focused on the topic of liver transplantation for unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Keywords

• colorectal cancer
• hepatic metastases
• extrahepatic disease
• liver transplant