Hepatic resection for metastatic melanoma: distinct patterns of recurrence and prognosis for ocular versus cutaneous disease.
BACKGROUND
Resection of melanoma metastatic to the liver remains controversial. We evaluated the efficacy of hepatic resection in patients with metastatic ocular and cutaneous melanoma and assessed factors that could affect survival after resection.


METHODS
Forty patients with hepatic melanoma metastasis underwent resection at four major hepatobiliary centers. Clinicopathologic factors were evaluated with regard to recurrence and survival by using chi(2) and log-rank tests.


RESULTS
The primary tumor was ocular in 16 patients and cutaneous in 24. The median disease-free interval from the time of primary tumor treatment to hepatic metastasis was the same for both groups (ocular, 62.9 months; cutaneous, 63.1 months; P = .94). Most patients underwent either an extended hepatic resection (37.5%) or hemihepatectomy (22.5%). Twenty-six patients (65%) received perioperative systemic therapy. Thirty (75.0%) of 40 patients developed tumor recurrence. The median time to recurrence after hepatic resection was 8.3 months (ocular, 8.8 months; cutaneous, 4.7 months; P = .3). Patients with primary ocular melanoma were more likely to experience recurrence within the liver (53.3% vs. 17.4%; P = .015), whereas patients with a cutaneous primary tumor more often developed extrahepatic involvement. The 5-year survival rate for patients with a primary ocular melanoma was 20.5%, whereas there were no 5-year survivors for patients with cutaneous melanoma (P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
Patterns of recurrence and prognosis after resection of hepatic melanoma metastasis differ depending on whether the primary melanoma is ocular or cutaneous. Resection should be performed as part of a multidisciplinary approach, because recurrence is common.
Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 444, Houston 77030, USA.
Timothy M
TM
Pawlik
Daria
D
Zorzi
Eddie K
EK
Abdalla
Bryan M
BM
Clary
Jeffrey E
JE
Gershenwald
Merrick I
MI
Ross
Thomas A
TA
Aloia
Steven A
SA
Curley
Luis H
LH
Camacho
Lorenzo
L
Capussotti
Dominique
D
Elias
Jean-Nicolas
JN
Vauthey
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005134:Eye Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D018579:Patient Selection; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015996:Survival Rate