Hepatic resection for secondary tumours

The role of liver resection for secondary tumours is reviewed, with particular reference to secondary disease from primary colorectal cancer. While there are no controlled trials producing direct evidence of improved survival following resection, figures on five year survivors without resection are anecdotal. Numerous series now report five year survival of up to 50% following resection, instances of five year survival without resection are now fallen to around 5% in most major series. Factors which adversely affect survival after resection seem to be poor tumour clearance, number of metastases and possibly Dukes' C primary tumours. Other factors, including the extent of resection and size of the tumour, may affect perioperative morbidity and mortality but should not influence long-term survival. Resectional treatment is rapidly gaining an established position in the treatment of colorectal secondaries, and may be considered also for some non-colorectal lesions, particularly endocrine tumours.