Authors:

Heorgios Asoulfas

Department of Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract:

About 15% of the roughly 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed in the United States each year will have hepatic metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, and another 50% will develop it over the course of their disease. 1 Despite recent advances in neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy after colon resection that have reduced the number of cases with metastatic disease and improved response rates with newer chemotherapeutic agents such as irinocetan, cetuximab, and bevacizumab, the two-year survival rate for patients with metastatic disease with only chemotherapy remains at best 40%. Since a result, surgical therapies remain the primary therapeutic option, as excision of hepatic metastases with the goal of curing the disease has been proven to result in 5-year survival rates of 30-40%. 2 Furthermore, improved surgical techniques and improved pre- and intra-operative patient assessment have resulted in a significant increase in the number and type of patients whose hepatic metastatic disease is now considered resectable, as opposed to a few years ago, when these same patients would not have had the option of a curative treatment.

Citation:

Heorgios Asoulfas. Time for Targeted Patient Care in the Management of Colorectal Hepatic Metastases. Japanese Journal of Gastroenterology 2023.