Prognostic Factors for Liver Metastases from Colorectal Cancer

Summary

Hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer is a common problem in clinical oncology. Results of new operative and chemotherapeutic techniques suggest that some patients may benefit from therapeutic intervention. However, phase II studies of these therapies often cannot adequately evaluate the impact of the natural history of the disease on the survival of the treated patient population. A review of the literature demonstrates that patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer may survive for more than two years if they have favorable prognostic variables. Those factors that seem to have significant prognostic influence include resection of the primary tumor, nodal involvement at the time of primary surgery, presence or absence of extrahepatic disease, extent of hepatic involvement, abnormalities of liver function tests, and performance status. Classification schema that utilize these known prognostic variables are necessary to improve communication among investigators and our ability to evaluate new therapies as they are reported.