Abstract

BACKGROUND: Progression of colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) on preoperative chemotherapy has been associated with a worse prognosis compared with patients who have responsive disease. Defining response can be challenging as traditional criteria largely assess only tumor size.METHODS: Patients who underwent hepatectomy between 2010 and 2017 were identified using a multi-centric database. This study aimed to define the impact of preoperative chemotherapy response relative to initial tumor burden score (TBS) and determine impact of clinico-pathological variables on overall survival (OS).RESULTS: Among 784 patients who received preoperative chemotherapy, the regimen was oxaliplatin- (66%) or irinotecan-based (34%). Among patients with a TBS<6at diagnosis, genetic status was the most important prognostic variable. Patients with a TBS<6, 5-year OS was 55%, 35%, and 0% for patients with KRAS/NRAS/BRAF wild-type, KRAS/NRAS, and BRAF mutations, respectively. Among patients who presented with CRLM with a TBS=6, only Delta-TBS was prognostically important and patients with a Delta-TBS=-10% had a 5-year OS of 27% compared with 49% for patients with a Delta-TBS<-10%.CONCLUSIONS: Prognostic stratification of patients with CRLM receiving preoperative chemotherapy should be multi-faceted and include consideration of initial tumor burden, change in tumor burden due to chemotherapy, and tumor genetic status.

View details for PubMedID 30792047