title: Liver metastases resection for gastric and esophageal tumors: is there enough evidence to go down this path?
abstract: Surgical resection of liver metastases from colorectal and neuroendocrine tumours has become a standard of care for resectable patients with isolated hepatic disease and good performance status, leading to extended survival in a carefully selected subgroup of these patients. However, the role of hepatic surgery in gastric and oesophageal liver metastases is controversial and not clearly defined. Areas covered:a systematic electronic literature search was performed to select the most representative evidence regarding hepatectomies in liver metastases from these two tumours. PubMed, Medline, Embase Ovid and Google Scholar databases were scanned for articles written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals between 1994 and May 2016. Expert commentary: Given the shortage of randomised studies and the limited number of patients in many of the studies discussed here, the evidence base for the use of hepatectomies in these settings is not strong. Thus, while the data for resections of gastric liver metastases may in particular seem encouraging, the results should be interpreted with caution.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Oncology , The Queen Elizabeth Hospital , Adelaide , SA , Australia.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tapia Rico
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Oncology , The Queen Elizabeth Hospital , Adelaide , SA , Australia.|b University of Adelaide , Adelaide , SA , Australia.
authors.forename: Amanda R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Oncology , The Queen Elizabeth Hospital , Adelaide , SA , Australia.
authors.forename: Myron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klevansky
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Oncology , The Queen Elizabeth Hospital , Adelaide , SA , Australia.|b University of Adelaide , Adelaide , SA , Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Liver metastases; gastrointestinal tumors; hepatectomy; survival