Abstract
Purpose : To clarify the prognostic factors after resection of liver metastasis in colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods : Fourty-two colorectal cancer cases with liver metastasis were assessed to determine the prognostic factors. Results : The cumulative survival after liver resection was 79.0% at 3 years and 72.9% at 5 years. Recurrences in the resected liver were very frequent in the multiple liver metastases group (p=0.04) ; on the other hand, extrahepatic recurrences after resection were very frequent in both the solitary and the multiple liver metastases groups. Patients' survival after liver resection was related to the presence of bilateral lobar metastases, recurrence in the remnant liver, and extrahepatic recurrences after resection. Multivariate analysis indicated that only extrahepatic recurrence after resection was an independent factor. Conclusions : The prognosis of colorectal cancer patients with a liver resection due to liver metastasis depends on the presence of extrahepatic recurrence after resection. Therefore, after liver resection, extrahepatic recurrences should be curtailed by the use of systemic chemotherapy.
