Surgery for colorectal liver metastases

Abstract

In this review the surgery of colorectal liver metastases is discussed. It has long been known that liver surgery can cure metastatic colorectal cancer although in only a small proportion of the population with the disease. However with better understanding of the natural history of the condition and advances in technique more patients can have safe, potentially curative surgery. The multidiscipline management of patients with effective chemotherapy has led to more patients benefiting from surgery after reducing the size of the metastases and allowing operation on patients who were previously inoperable. Chemotherapy also improves at least the medium-term outcome in those who are operable at the outset. Minimally invasive techniques have been developed so that major hepatectomy may be accomplished in up to half of such cases with a very short hospital stay and limited interference with quality of life. Lastly, using portal vein embolisation to cause hypertrophy of the future liver remnant and on occasions combining it with staged liver resection allows potentially curative surgery on patients who previously could not have survived resection. These developments have led to more patients being cured of advanced colorectal cancer.

Laparoscopic Liver Surgery: New Frontiers

“…Liver resection is generally accepted as the standard of care and may cure patients with colorectal metastases (114)(115). For patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, who do not meet transplantation criteria, liver resection offers the next best survival rate (116)(117).…”

MiR-454 Prompts Cell Proliferation of Human Colorectal Cancer Cells by Repressing CYLD Expression

“…Surgery is the main treatment for operable colorectal cancer, followed by chemotherapy and radiation (Aschele et al, 2009;Suppiah et al, 2009;Andre et al, 2010;Primrose, 2010). However, recurrence and metastasis are very common.…”

Resección de metástasis hepáticas en cáncer gástrico: Experiencia preliminar

“…La efectividad de la resección de metástasis hepáticas en pacientes con cáncer colorectal ha sido comprobada científicamente [1][2][3] . Por el contrario, los reportes de resección hepática por metástasis de cáncer gástrico son escasos y los resultados muy controversiales [4][5][6] .…”