Marking disappearing colorectal liver metastases after complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy via CT – A pilot study

Abstract

Background/Aim: The liver is a frequent site for metastases of colorectal cancer. Approximately 15% of patients have hepatic metastases at the time of diagnosis and another 50% develop them over the course of their disease. Only 10-25% of patients are candidates for liver resection. The aim of this study was to assess the benefit of preoperative computed tomography (CT)-guided wire marking of disappearing colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs) (radiological disappearance of metastases) before surgical resection. Patients and Methods: Between January 2011 and January 2014, 20 patients with potentially disappearing CRLMs were selected for CT-guided wire marking. Following treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, disappearing CRLMs were marked via CT guidance. Afterwards, the marked sites were resected. Results: Complete histological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was only in 10 resected sites (18%), and 46 (82%) resected liver metastases showed metastatic tissue present. Both overall survival and the disease-free rates in patients after using our method were 55%. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the usefulness of CT-guided wire marking to mark disappearing CRLMs in order to improve long-term effectiveness of surgical treatment.