title: Retrospective study on adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver.
abstract: As a means of defining the role of chemotherapy after radical resection of colorectal liver metastases, a follow-up study of consecutive cases referred to three different surgical clinics, between June 1977 and December 1990 was performed. Data were collected from medical records and recorded on standardized forms. Analysis focused on the impact of treatment on survival of the study population by Cox multivariate analysis. One hundred and twenty-four primary colon cancer cases were reviewed and 102 were fully evaluable. Forty of the 102 were given 5FU based chemotherapy. According to multivariate survival analysis, time to hepatic metastasis (synchronous vs metachronous, RR = 0.41, 95%, C.I. = 0.21-0.78; P = 0.007) and sex (female vs male, RR = 0.48, 95% C.I. = 0.25-0.93; P = 0.029) were significantly associated with better survival. The relative risk of dying associated with treatment was 0.53 (95% C.I. = 0.27-1.05; P = 0.0675). This study suggests that chemotherapy may have an impact on survival, although the size of the effect is not precise. Multicentric randomized clinical trials are required to define the risk/benefit profile of adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Chirurgica II, Università degli Studi, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dario
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giovanni
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Virgilio
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Paolo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roberto
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gianfranco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mario
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daniela
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Angelo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome