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Systematic Review on Safety and Efficacy of Repeat Hepatectomy for Recurrent Liver Metastases from Colorectal Carcinoma

¹ Department of Surgery, University of New South Wales, St George Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
² School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
³ School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Correspondence: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: David L. Morris, MD, PhD; E-mail: david.morris{at}unsw.edu.au

Background: We critically appraised the quantity and quality of current clinical evidence to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of repeat hepatectomy for recurrent colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).

Methods: Electronic searches for relevant studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals on repeat hepatectomy for recurrent CRLM before January 2007 were performed on six databases. The quality of each included study was independently assessed. Clinical effectiveness was synthesized through a narrative review with full tabulation of results of all included studies.

Results: Seventeen studies with more than 20 patients were included for quality appraisal and data extraction. All 17 included articles were observational cases series. The overall perioperative morbidity rate ranged from 7% to 30% and mortality rate varied from 0% to 5%. The overall median survival since the repeat hepatectomy ranged from 23 to 56 months, with 3- and 5-year survival of 24% to 68% and 21% to 49%, respectively. The median disease-free survival ranged from 9 to 52 months, with 3- and 5-year disease-free survival of 16% to 68% and 16% to 48%, respectively.

Conclusions: The current literature suggests that repeat hepatectomy is associated with a prolonged survival for recurrent CRLM and is justified in selected patients because there is a lack of evidence for effective alternative treatments.

Key Words: Hepatectomy • Liver resection • Recurrence • Colorectal cancer • Liver metastases