Table 1 Phase III trials that have established the benefits of chemotherapy and targeted therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer Paradigm shift in surgical resection of colorectal liver metastases Although contemporary therapeutic regimens have increased the longevity of patients with CRLM,

the only option for cure remains complete resection of the metastatic disease. Fortunately, the improvements Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in medical therapies for mCRC have been concomitant with refinements in surgical and critical care techniques and technologies. Routinely, patients who undergo hepatic resection for CRLM now have 5-year survival rates nearing 40% or higher (35-38). In the past only a fraction of the one-quarter of patients

with mCRC limited to the liver were considered for curative surgical options. Much has changed with the advent of more powerful chemotherapy regimens and effective targeted agents. The response rates have increased and patients who in the past would have been considered never resectable Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are now approached with treatment plans with Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical intent for cure. Since surgical resection represents the only curative option for CRLM, the definition of resectability, the timing of hepatic metastasectomy, the role of maximizing treatment response, and the effect of chemotherapy and targeted agents on surgical outcomes are all key issues that must be addressed. Consideration of surgery for CRLM mandates a clear and reproducible definition of resectable liver disease. Although the free copy relative criteria Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for resectability may vary among institutions, the absolute criteria are generally the same. First, the designation that CRLM is resectable must indicate that complete microscopic negative margin resection (i.e., R0) can be achieved with adequate future Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical liver remnant (FLR). Second, absolute contraindications to hepatic resection include current or expected hepatic failure, the presence of unresectable extrahepatic disease, and medical co-morbidities precluding safe surgical intervention. Prior randomized trials have used the following criteria to define

unresectable disease: >4 metastases, tumor size >5 cm, bilobar involvement, and involvement of major vascular structures (39,40). However, these outdated criteria have been largely replaced by the GSK-3 goal for R0 resection with appropriate FLR, generally more than 20% in normal livers and >30% in livers with impaired function (41-43). The emphasis on R0 resection is selleck chem important, because positive resection margins predict an unfavorable prognosis (37). Although a 1-cm margin was traditionally defined as an adequate margin, more recent studies suggest that any negative margin is acceptable (35,44). The timing of hepatic metastasectomy in patients presenting with primary colorectal cancers and synchronous CRLM is another dilemma.