Results of surgical resection of liver metastases from non‐colorectal primaries

Background Advances in the field of liver surgery have lowered its associated mortality and morbidity rates, and hepatic resection for metastatic disease is increasingly performed. There are few well defined guidelines for the heterogeneous group of non‐colorectal metastases. This study analysed the risks and benefits of surgical resection for liver metastases from non‐colorectal primaries. Methods A retrospective study was performed of 34 patients who underwent 37 operations over a 10‐year period. Compilation of data from 141 patients from eight additional recent series was performed in order to analyse the effect of histological type on survival. Results There were no perioperative deaths. Complications occurred after seven of 37 procedures. Actuarial survival rates were 61, 43 and 27 per cent at 1, 2 and 5 years. Survival was significantly improved for curative versus palliative resection ( P < 0·05), and for single versus multiple metastases ( P < 0·05). A strong correlation was observed between time to presentation with metastasis and length of survival ( P < 0·0001). Survival was significantly better for patients with secondaries from neuroendocrine tumours ( P < 0·0001), worse for those with intestinal adenocarcinomas ( P < 0·0001) and similar for patients with breast carcinoma ( P > 0·5) when compared with the whole group. Conclusion The low mortality and morbidity rates and the satisfactory survival figures reported justify this type of surgery for selected patients, in the absence of therapeutic alternatives. © 1998 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd