The Significance of Hepatic Resection for Synchronous Multiple Metastases from Colorectal Cancer

Kazuhisa Yabushita, Kohji Konishi, Naomi Nojima, Takahiro Sato, Hironobu Kimura, Kiichi Maeda, Yoshitaka Kuroda, Masahiko Tsuji, Atsuo Miwa*

Department of Surgery, Department of Pathology*, Toyama Prefectural Central Hospital

Ninety-one patients with colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastasis in the last 15 years, who underwent bowel resection with an adequate surgical margin, were selected for this study. The 5-year survival rate was 19.9%, and 8 of the patients survived for 5 years after the initial surgery. The 5-year survival rate for 40 patients who had undergone surgical resection of liver metastases was 29.1%, and, in 36 patients without resection it was 4.9%, demonstrating that the prognosis for the former was significantly better than for the latter. In this study the 5-year survival rate for patients according to the degree of liver metastasis were as follows: 31.1% vs 0% for H1 and 42.9% vs 0% for H3 (resection vs non-resection). In the case of liver resection, the numbers of liver metastases, size of the liver metastasis or extent of liver resection did not correlate with the prognosis. In view of the results, aggressive surgical resection may be an efficient treatment of multiple liver metastases.

Key words
colorectal cancer, synchronous liver metastases, hepatectomy

Reprint requests
Kazuhisa Yabushita Department of Surgery, Toyama Prefectural Central Hospital
2-2-78 Nishinagae, Toyama, 930-0975 JAPAN

Accepted
September 16, 1998

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