Efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization on lesion reduction in colorectal liver metastases

Following failure of systemic chemotherapy, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is an available method to control unresectable liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma (CRC). The aim of present study was to evaluate the efficacy of chemoembolization for inoperable metastatic liver lesions from CRC. Forty-five CRC patients with liver metastases resistant to systemic chemotherapy were enrolled in our study. For each patient, three session of TACE were conducted with 45 days interval. A combination of mitomycin, doxorubicin, and lipiodol were used for TACE. A tri-phasic computed tomography scan and biochemical laboratory tests were performed for all patients at baseline and 30 days after each TACE. Image analysis included measurement of lesion diameters as well as contrast enhancement. Eleven patients deceased before completing three session and the final analyses were performed on the remaining 34 patients. Evaluation of a total 93 lesions in all patients after chemoembolization sessions revealed a 25.88% reduction in anteroposterior (AP) diameter, 33.92% transverse (T) diameter, and 42.22% in product of APxT diameter of lesions (P<0.001 for all instances). CT scan showed a total disappearance of 33% of lesions and evident reduction in contrast enhancement in 16% of them. There were no changes in contrast enhancement in 51% of lesions. Evaluation of single largest lesion in each patient revealed 57.32% reduction in AP diameter, 59.66% in T diameter, and 62.17% in product of APxT diameters (P<0.001 for all diameters). TACE offers a viable option for CRC patients with unresectable liver metastases by significantly reducing lesion size and contrast enhancement.