Prognostic Factors Affecting Survival of Patients after Liver Resection Due to Colorectal Liver Metastases

Abstract Introduction. Colorectal liver metastases have a poor prognosis and only 2% have an average 5-year survival if left untreated. In recent decades there has been a development in the diagnosis, treatment and palliative treatment of patients with colorectal liver metastases, and despite radical resection the average five-year survival is between 25% and 44%. Aim. To explore the experience of the Clinic in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases, comparing it with data from the literature and based on the comparison to determine the prognostic factors that affect survival after radical surgical treatment of patients. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted at the Clinic of General and Hepato-pancreatic Surgery at the University Hospital “Aleksandrovska”-Sofia. The study comprised the period between 01.01.2006 to 31.12.2015. It included a total of 239 cases, of whom: 179 patients underwent radical interventions, 5 palliative and 55 patients underwent explorative interventions due to liver metastases. Clinical and pathological materials were analyzed using SPSS-19 to determine the prognostic significance of a number of factors in relation to the survival: gender, age, type and localization of metastases, postoperative stage of the primary tumor, type and volume of liver resection, extrahepatic metastases, preoperative values of CEA, postoperative values (AST, ALT). Results. Factors that correlated with lower survival type: metastases (synchronous or metachronus), localization of metastases (uni-or bilobar), presence of the regional lymph node metastases and metastases to other distant organs and the impossibility of radical resection of liver were statistically significant with multivariant analysis. Elevated preoperative value of CEA, the value of hemoglobin and stage IV disease also affected the survival of patients. Conclusion. In patients with colorectal liver metastases only resection has potentially curative character. The surgical strategy for resection in context of increasing the percentage of patients with resectable potential is the only possible factor for long-term survival.