Background & objective: It is not very clear about the factors that affect the prognosis of liver metastases from colorectal cancer. This study was to investigate the clinicopathologic factors related to the prognosis of liver metastases from colorectal cancer.
Methods: The clinicopathologic factors and follow-up data of 197 patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, treated from Jan. 1996 to Dec. 2000, were analyzed retrospectively. The prognostic index (PI) of patients was calculated based on the results of multivariate analysis and patients were classified into different hazard groups accordingly.
Results: The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 59.04%, 17.73%, and 11.48%. Univariate analysis revealed that extrahepatic invasion, primary tumor resection, liver metastasis resection, type of primary tumor, serum CEA concentration, number and size of liver metastases, and distribution of liver metastases were associated with prognosis. Multivariate analysis identified that the resection of liver metastases, serum CEA concentration, number and size of liver metastases were prognostic factors. The patients were classified into high risk, moderate risk, and low risk groups according to the PI value, and there was significant difference in survival rates between each two groups.
Conclusions: Liver metastasis resection, serum CEA concentration, number and size of liver metastases are important prognostic factors for liver metastases from colorectal cancer. In order to improve the survival rate, liver metastases should be resected for suitable patients. Moreover, PI value could be used to predict the prognosis of patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer.