Prognostic factors of overall survival in patients with recurrent disease following liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases: A multicenter external validation study

Abstract

Background The clinical course of patients experiencing recurrence following hepatectomy for colorectal cancer metastases (CRM) is poorly defined. Previous studies associated shorter time to recurrence (TTR) in months, node‐positive primary tumor, and more than one site of recurrence with worse outcomes. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study across four Canadian institutions to externally validate previously established prognostic factors of overall survival (OS). We included consecutive adult patients who had a recurrence following curative‐intent liver resection for CRM. Prognostic factors were explored using a multivariable Cox regression model. Risk group cutoffs were identified through recursive partitioning. OS between low‐ and high‐risk groups was compared using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results This study included 471 patients. Shorter TTR in months (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93–0.97), presence of extrahepatic disease at first hepatectomy (HR: 2.54, 95% CI: 1.18–5.50), and larger tumor size in millimetres (HR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00–1.02) were associated with worse OS. Median OS in the high‐ and low‐risk groups were 40.5 (95% CI: 34.0–45.7 months) versus 64.7 months (95% CI: 57.9–72.3 months; p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions We externally validated the prognostic significance of shorter TTR (<8.5 months) as a predictor of worse OS in patients who recur the following hepatectomy for CRM.