title: Aggressive treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer increases survival: a scandinavian single-center experience.
abstract: Background. We examined overall and disease-free survivals in a cohort of patients subjected to resection of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer (CRLM) in a 10-year period when new treatment strategies were implemented. Methods. Data from 239 consecutive patients selected for liver resection of CRLM during the period from 2002 to 2011 at a single center were used to estimate overall and disease-free survival. The results were assessed against new treatment strategies and established risk factors. Results. The 5-year cumulative overall and disease-free survivals were 46 and 24%. The overall survival was the same after reresection, independently of the number of prior resections and irrespectively of the location of the recurrent disease. The time intervals between each recurrence were similar (11 ± 1 months). Patients with high tumor load given neoadjuvant chemotherapy had comparable survival to those with less extensive disease without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Positive resection margin or resectable extrahepatic disease did not affect overall survival. Conclusion. Our data support that one still, and perhaps to an even greater extent, should seek an aggressive therapeutic strategy to achieve resectable status for recurrent hepatic and extrahepatic metastases. The data should be viewed in the context of recent advances in the understanding of cancer biology and the metastatic process.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, 0318 Oslo, Norway ; Biotechnology Centre, University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, Norway ; Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Oslo University Hospital, 0424 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristoffer Watten
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Brudvik
authors.forename: Simer Jit
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bains
authors.forename: Lars Thomas
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Seeberg
authors.forename: Knut Jørgen
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Labori
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waage
authors.forename: Kjetil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taskén
authors.forename: Einar Martin
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Aandahl
authors.forename: Bjørn Atle
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bjørnbeth