title: [Combined multimodal treatment for liver and lung metastasis from colorectal cancer: a new therapeutic option?].
abstract: The authors analyse which therapeutic strategy to adopt on the basis of prognostic factors and staging of hepatic and pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer. They underline the effectiveness of combined multimodal therapy in the treatment of very advanced metastatic stages. 218 patients with metastases from colorectal cancer (12 pulmonary and 206 hepatic metastases) were treated from January 1980 to October 2000. Among these patients, 159 underwent surgery (4 pulmonary and 155 hepatic resections), 16 were reoperated on for metastatic relapse, 14 with multiple metastases underwent locoregional therapy and 29, deemed unresectable initially, were treated with neoadjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy. In the operated patient group the 5-year actuarial survival rate was 22% with an operative mortality of 3.8% and a morbidity of 17.5%. The 16 patients reoperated on for metastatic relapse had a 5-year actuarial survival of 21% with an operative mortality of 6.2% and a morbidity of 15.8%. The 14 patients treated with locoregional therapy had a median survival of 6 months whereas the 29 patients treated in two different periods with combined multimodal treatment had a response rate of 59.2%. Five patients had a complete response and 4 are currently disease-free. Surgical resection is at present the best known treatment for metastatic disease. In very advanced, as yet undisseminated stages, in which there is no surgical indication for metastases a neoadjuvant treatment is proposed if the primary tumour has already been completely resected. The aim of this therapeutic strategy, called combined multimodal therapy, is to obtain the disease regression with the aid of systemic chemo- and radiotherapy and to offer a chance of re-staging the disease.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Chirurgia, Ospedale Genova, Pontedecimo, Via Ospedale Gallino, 5, 16164 Genova, Pontedecimo.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ciferri
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bondanza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castagnola
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Municinò
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luminati
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frola
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Neumaier
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Gazzaniga
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged