Description

Metastatic disease is the main cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer and the most frequent location of metastases is in the liver. The treatment of liver metastases of colorectal origin is multimodal and should be based on a multidisciplinary team decision. A systematic review of the literature revealed that the number of liver metastases, their maximum size, CEA level, advanced age of the patients, and presence of extrahepatic disease are no longer contraindications to liver resection. The resectability rate of colorectal liver metastases increased from 10 to almost 40%, enabling 5-year overall survival rates higher than 30%. Short-term and long-term results achieved by simultaneous resection (SR) are similar to those achieved by staged resections in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases. Whenever possible, major hepatectomies should be replaced by ultrasound-guided limited liver resections, and primary tumor should be approached in a minimally invasive manner. Even initially unresectable colorectal liver metastases could be rendered resectable by an aggressive multimodal approach (“two-stage” hepatectomies, hepatectomy after portal vein embolization/ligation, resection after conversion chemotherapy, and hepatectomy associated with ablation). The presence of extrahepatic metastases is no longer a contraindication to liver resection, when extrahepatic disease is resectable. Repeat hepatectomy improves survival in patients with recurrent liver meta

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