Current trends and outcomes of surgical treatment of colorectal cancer with liver metastasis

Abstract

Aim. To analyze multimodal treatment outcomes in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, who were treated at multidisciplinary cancer clinic. Material and methods. From 2007 to 2021, 315 colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases underwent liver resections (201, 63.8 %), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (29, 9.2 %), microwave ablation (MWA) (22, 6.9 %), transarterial chemoembolozation (TACE) in combination with RFA (22, 6.9 %), and TACE + RFA + TACE combination (41, 13.2 %) at the department of liver and pancreas surgery, Moscow Botkin Clinical Hospital. Results. A 90-day mortality rate was 1.9% in 6 patients who underwent liver resection. Postoperative complications after liver resection were observed in 49 patients (24.3 %). The overall 5- and 10-year survival rates after liver resection were 38.8 % and 23.2 %, respectively. The factors of poor prognosis after liver resection were: age over 70 years (p=0.03), localization of the primary tumor in the right half or rectum (p=0.037), three or more metastatic foci in the liver (p=0.01), maximum size of the tumor of more than 5 cm (p=0.021), synchronous colorectal liver metastases (p=0.039), and bilobar colorectal liver metastases (p=0.007). Postoperative complications after RFA, TACE + RFA, TACE + RFA + TACE WERE 5.8 %, 9.1 % and 7.3 %, respectively. In patients with a size of metastases of no more than 3 cm, the 3-year disease-free and overall survival rates after rfa were 45.8 % and 54.2 %, respectively. In patients with a size of metastases from 3 to 5 cm, the 3-year disease-free and overall survival rates after TACE + RFA + TACE were 56.1 % and 63.4 %, respectively. Conclusion. In colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases, multimodal treatment within a multi-disciplinary setting demonstrated significant improvements in their survival.

Keywords

• colorectal cancer
• liver metastases
• liver resection
• radiofrequency ablation