Surgery for liver metastases from breast cancer

Liver metastases develop in approximately half of women with metastatic breast cancer, and are typically associated with metastases at other sites, indicating advanced disease and poor prognosis. Whenever possible, hormonal therapy should be administered, until resistance develops. Several series in the literature have reported a poor effect of chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic breast cancer, therefore liver surgery could be considered as an adjuvant treatment to systemic therapy in highly selected patients. This study looked at recent case series in the literature, and analysed prognostic factors and indications for surgery.     

Liver resections in metastatic gastric cancer

Background

The 5-year survival of patients receiving standard-of-care chemotherapy for metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) to the liver is <2%. This review examines the published data on liver resections for MGC and analyses the rationale for potentially aggressive surgical management.

Methods

A search of the PubMed and Scopus databases was used to identify studies published in English from 1990 to 2009 that reported on 10 or more patients who underwent liver resections for MGC. All available clinicopathologic data were analysed. In particular, we examined longterm survival and the characteristics of individuals surviving for >5 years.

Results

Nineteen studies reported on 436 patients. Median 5-year survival was 26.5% (range: 0–60%). Overall, 13.4% (48/358) of patients were alive at 5 years and studies with extended follow-up reported that 4.0% (7/174) of patients survived for >10 years. Overall in-hospital mortality was 3.5% (12/340 patients); however, the median mortality rate across the studies was 0%. No prognostic factor was found to be consistently statistically significant across these small studies.

Conclusions

Despite the limitations of any analysis of retrospective data for highly selected groups of patients, it would appear that liver resections combined with systemic therapy for MGC can result in prolonged survival.     

Increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-7 in invasive early gastric cancer

Background Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), a proteolytic enzyme, is suspected to play an important role in the progression of various cancers. To clarify the clinical importance of MMP-7, we retrospectively analyzed MMP-7 expression in gastric epithelial tumors.Methods We tested 201 lesions (from 172 patients) of surgically or endoscopically resected gastric epithelial tumors (gastric cancer, 158 lesions; gastric adenoma, 32 lesions; hyperplastic polyp, 11 lesions). MMP-7 expression was immunohistochemically examined. Sections with immunostaining signals in more than 30% of tumor cells were judged to show positive expression.Results MMP-7 was expressed in 33.3% (67/201) of all lesions. MMP-7-positive tumors were significantly more frequent in diffuse-type adenocarcinomas (62.2%; 28/45) compared with intestinal-type lesions (31.9%; 36/113; P < 0.001). Cancers invading the submucosa or deeper (60.5%; 46/76) were showed positivity significantly more frequently than mucosal cancers (22.0%; 18/82; P < 0.001). MMP-7-positive lesions increased with the progression of gastric epithelial tumors, including adenomas, mucosal cancers, and cancers invading the submucosal layer or deeper (P < 0.001). MMP-7 expression occurred significantly more often in lymphatic invasion-positive cancers (65.1%; 41/63) than in lymphatic invasion-negative cancers (24.2%; 23/95; P < 0.001).Conclusions The MMP-7-positive rate increased with the progression of gastric epithelial tumors, such as adenoma, mucosal cancer, and cancer invading the submucosal layer or deeper. MMP-7 was significantly associated with aggressive pathological phenotypes of cancer. The detection of the MMP-7 protein may be useful in pretherapeutic diagnosis.     

Simultaneous versus staged liver resection of synchronous liver metastases from colorectal cancer

Background and aims The surgical strategy for treatment of synchronous liver metastases from colorectal cancer remains controversial. This retrospective analysis was conducted to compare the postoperative outcome and survival of patients receiving simultaneous resection of liver metastases and primary colorectal cancer to those receiving staged resection. Materials and methods Between January 1988 and September 2005, 219 patients underwent liver resection for synchronous colorectal liver metastases, of whom, 40 patients received simultaneous resection of liver metastases and primary colorectal cancer, and 179 patients staged resections. Patients were identified from a prospective database, and records were retrospectively reviewed. Patient, tumor, and operative parameters were analyzed for their influence on postoperative morbidity and mortality as well as on long-term survival. Results Simultaneous liver resections tend to be performed for colon primaries rather than for rectal cancer (p = 0.004) and used less extensive liver resections (p < 0.001). The postoperative morbidity was comparable between both groups, whereas the mortality was significantly higher in patients with simultaneous liver resection (p = 0.012). The mortality after simultaneous liver resection (n = 4) occurred after major hepatectomies, and three of these four patients were 70 years of age or older. There was no significant difference in long-term survival after formally curative simultaneous and staged liver resection. Conclusion Simultaneous liver and colorectal resection is as efficient as staged resections in the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases. To perform simultaneous resections safely a careful patient selection is necessary. The most important criteria to select patients for simultaneous liver resection are age of the patient and extent of liver resection.     

Evaluation of aggressively treated patients with unresectable multiple liver metastases from colorectal cancer

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the value of aggressively treating patients with unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer and a poor prognosis. METHODS: From 1988 to 1999, 64 patients with unresectable multiple liver metastases from colorectal cancer who had received hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy were investigated. All patients did not have synchronous extrahepatic metastases at the time of initiating our treatment. When liver metastases were suitable for resection after hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, we excised them and repeated prophylactic hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy as long as possible. We evaluated the efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy by computed tomography and divided these patients into responders and nonresponders. We performed univariate analysis using the log-rank test to calculate predictive factors. In addition, the Cox proportional hazards model was used to perform multivariate analysis of factors related to survival. RESULTS: The survival rate of all patients was 67.8 percent after 1 year and 10 percent after 5 years. However, the survival rate for 16 patients who received hepatectomy after hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy was 35.1 percent after five years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the response after hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy was the most indicative prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of selected patients who responded to hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy and received hepatectomy was improved. Applying aggressive treatment as outlined in our strategy may improve the chances of long-term survival.     

Intra‐operative ultrasound for detection of liver metastases from colorectal cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of intra‐operative ultrasound (IOUS) imaging in detecting liver secondaries at the time of primary colorectal surgery and to evaluate the impact of IOUS on patient management. Methods: Data from 167 patients with primary colorectal cancer who were admitted for elective surgery between January 1995 and December 2003 were prospectively evaluated and analysed. All patients underwent pre‐operative abdominal ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT), as well as IOUS. The final diagnosis of liver metastases was made by means of histological examination of either biopsy or surgical specimens. The sensitivities of pre‐operative US and CT were compared with the sensitivity of IOUS, referred to histology. Changes in surgical management owing to IOUS findings were noted. Results: IOUS supplied additional information in the case of 31 patients. In 28 of these patients, this information had a major impact on the intra‐operative strategy, in that the procedure was altered. Conclusions: IOUS is safe, simple to perform and more accurate than pre‐operative imaging. It reduces the number of patients subjected to superfluous surgery. The use of IOUS is therefore encouraged during colorectal cancer surgery.     

Major hepatectomy for isolated metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma

BackgroundLiver metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma denote a poor prognosis. Most gastric metastases will be diffuse, and for these chemotherapy remains the only useful treatment modality. The treatment of isolated liver metastases is still unclear. The Japanese literature has reported good results with surgical resection, but Western series were unable to achieve the same results. We report our results with resection of liver metastases from gastric cancer in nine patientsMethodsA retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine the results of the surgical treatment of hepatic metastases from gastric carcinoma over the last five decades. Only nine patients underwent such treatment. Variables analysed were age, gender, the primary tumour, the type of liver operation performed, the time of occurrence of liver metastasis, the morbidity and mortality and the overall survival. Follow-up was complete.ResultsThere were eight patients with gastric carcinoma staged as T3 and one as T4 (UICC-97). All patients had positive lymph nodes. The hepatic procedure performed was a hemihepatectomy in eight patients and a left lateral segmentectomy in one patient. Right hepatectomy was performed in six cases. There were four patients with synchronous liver metastasis: three involved the right liver and the other involved segments II/III. All were treated by one-step surgery. The five metachronous metastases involved the right liver in three patients (accounting for half of the right hepatectomies), while the other two underwent left hepatectomies. There was a high postoperative mortality rate (33%, 3/9), two of the deaths occurring in the first decade of the study (1956, 1966) secondary to hepatic insufficiency and one from sepsis. One patient died suddenly without recurrence after 3 months. The other five died with evidence of disease at between 2 and 11 months.DiscussionDespite some anecdotal reports of treatment with chemotherapy, either systemic or intrahepatic, the more consistent results for the treatment of patients with hepatic metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma come from the Japanese literature with the use of radical surgery. Unfortunately, Western series, including our own, do not achieve the same results. At the present time, in view of these results, we are performing less aggressive treatment such as radio-frequency ablation.     

Floxuridine coupling with lactosaminated human albumin to increase drug efficacy on liver micrometastases

BACKGROUND: Conjugates of nucleoside analogues with galactosyl terminating peptides selectively enter hepatocytes through the asialoglycoprotein receptor. After intracellular release from the carrier, the drugs partly exit from hepatic cells into hepatic blood. AIMS: To establish whether administration of a conjugate of floxuridine with lactosaminated human albumin selectively enhances drug concentrations in hepatic blood. Floxuridine is a fluoropyrimidine active on human colorectal cancer, a tumour which metastasises first to the liver. METHODS: In rats injected with free or conjugated floxuridine, plasma levels of the drug were determined in hepatic veins and in inferior vena cava, in order to measure drug concentrations in hepatic blood and in the systemic circulation, respectively. RESULTS: Ratios between floxuridine levels in hepatic veins and those in systemic circulation were found to be seven times higher in rats injected with the conjugate (p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that coupling to lactosaminated albumin might improve the effect of floxuridine in adjuvant chemotherapy of colorectal cancer by exposing the cells of liver micrometastases (nourished by hepatic sinusoids) to enhanced drug concentrations.     

Surgical treatment of liver metastases from pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a disease with a poor prognosis. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced and unresectable stage. Even if the primary cancer is radically removed, postoperative recurrence frequently occurs. Generally, metastatic liver tumors from pancreatic cancer are not indicated for surgical treatment. Here we evaluate the results of performing hepatectomy for liver metastases of pancreatic cancer. In our institute, six patients with liver metastases from pancreatic cancer were treated by partial hepatectomy. Overall 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of six patients after hepatectomy were 66.7%, 33.3% and 16.7%, respectively, and one patient was alive for 65.4 months. Performing a hepatectomy for liver metastases of pancreatic cancer, when combined with a pancreas resection, was recently considered to be a safe operation, and one that might offer prolonged survival for highly selected patients with curative resection of liver metastases. In the future, it will be necessary to develop new multi-modality therapies to improve the prognosis of pancreatic cancer.     

Chemotherapy and resection for gastric cancer with synchronous liver metastases

AIM: To investigate the effect of surgery and chemotherapy for gastric cancer with multiple synchronous liver metastases (GCLM). METHODS: A total of 114 patients were entered in this study, and 20 patients with multiple synchronous liver metastases were eligible. After screening with preoperative chemotherapy, 20 patients underwent curative gastrectomy and hepatectomy for GCLM; 14 underwent major hepatectomy, and the remaining six underwent minor hepatectomy. There were 94 patients without aggressive treatment, and they were in the non-operative group. Two regimens of perioperative chemotherapy were used: S-1 and cisplatin (SP) in 12 patients, and docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) in eight patients. These GCLM patients were given preoperative chemotherapy consisting of two courses chemotherapy of SP or DCF regimens. After chemotherapy, gastrectomy and hepatectomy were preformed. Evaluation of patient survival was by follow-up contact using telephone and outpatient records. All patients were assessed every 3 mo during the first year and every 6 mo thereafter. RESULTS: Twenty patients underwent gastrectomy and hepatectomy and completed their perioperative chemotherapy and hepatic arterial infusion before and after surgery. Ninety-four patients had no aggressive treatment of liver metastases because of technical difficulties with resection and severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction. In the surgery group, there was no toxicity greater than grade 3 during the course of chemotherapy. The response rate was 100% according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Criteria. For all 114 patients, the overall survival rate was 8.0%, 4.0%, 4.0% and 4.0% at 1, 2, 3 and 4 years, respectively, with a median survival time (MST) of 8.5 mo (range: 0.5-48 mo). For the 20 patients in the surgery group, MST was 22.3 mo (range: 4-48 mo). In the 94 patients without aggressive treatment, MST was 5.5 mo (range: 0.5-21 mo). There was a significant difference between the surgery and unresectable patients (P = 0.000). Thr     

The effects of surgical margin and edge cryotherapy after liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases

Background. A 1 cm margin seen at operation is typically the minimally acceptable margin for liver resections. Patients who fail to achieve this margin are routinely treated with edge cryotherapy at our unit. This paper aims to assess the benefit of edge cryotherapy on survival in patients with such suboptimal margins. Patients and methods. Between January 1990 and February 2006, 608 patients underwent liver resection and/or cryotherapy for colorectal cancer metastases. All liver resections were performed using the CUSA transection method. Data on marginal status were available for 398 patients. Patient demographics, number and size of liver lesions, preoperative and postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), extent of liver resection, margin status, site and date of recurrence, date of last follow-up and death were examined. Results. There were 175 patients in the R0 group (>1 cm macroscopic and ≥1 mm microscopic margin), 103 patients in the R1 group (>1 cm macroscopic and <1 mm microscopic margin) and 120 patients in the R2 group (≤1 cm macroscopic margin and received edge cryotherapy). After a median follow-up of 63 months, there were no significant difference between the 5-year survival rates for R0, R1 and R2 (40%, 30% and 28%, respectively). Conclusion. As long as the surgical margin is clear macroscopically, the microscopic margin width does not affect survival. In patients with suboptimal margins, the addition of edge cryotherapy improves the prospect for long-term survival and may lower recurrence risk.     

Surgical management of recurrence after resection of colorectal liver metastases

The optimal treatment for recurrent lesions after hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases is controversial. We report the outcome of aggressive surgery for recurrent disease after the initial hepatectomy and the influence on quality of life of such treatment. Forty-five (70%) of the 64 surviving patients developed recurrence after the initial hepatectomy for liver metastases. The determinants of hepatic recurrence were the distribution and the number of liver metastases. Twenty-eight (62%) of patients with recurrence underwent resection. A second hepatectomy was performed in 20 patients, and a third hepatectomy was done in 5 patients. Ten patients with pulmonary metastasis underwent partial lung resection on 14 occasions, while resection of brain metastases was performed in 3 patients on 5 occasions. There were no operative deaths after resection of recurrent disease. The morbidity rate was 28% after repeat hepatectomy, 21% after pulmonary resection, and 0% after resection of brain metastasis. The Karnofsky performance status (PS) after the last surgery was not significantly different from that after the initial hepatectomy. The 3- and 5-year survival rates after the second hepatectomy were 54% and 14%, respectively. The 3-and 5-year survival rates of the patients undergoing resection of extrahepatic recurrence were both 17%. The survival rate after resection of recurrent disease (n=28) was significantly better than that of patients (n=17) with unresectable recurrence (P < 0.05). For the 66 patients with colorectal liver metastases, the 5-year survival rate after initial hepatectomy was 50%. The distribution and the number of liver metastases and the presence of extrahepatic disease, as single factors, significantly affected prognosis after the initial hepatectomy. Multivariate analysis revealed that only the presence of extrahepatic metastasis and a disease-free interval of less than 6 months were independent predictors of survival after the initial and second hepatectomy, respectively. It is concluded that aggressive surgery is an effective strategy for selected patients with recurrence after initial hepatectomy. Careful selection of candidates for repeat surgery will yield increased clinical benefit, including long-term survival.     

微调三号方对小鼠大肠癌肝转移灶基质金属蛋白酶-2及金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子-2的影响

目的：探讨微调三号方（WD-3）对小鼠大肠癌肝转移灶基质金属蛋白酶-2（MMP-2）及金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子-2（TIMP-2）的影响。方法：建立BALB/c鼠结肠腺癌肝转移模型,随机分为6组：模型组,西药组,中药低、中、高剂量组,中西药组,分组治疗4周。免疫组化染色结合图像分析系统半定量检测转移灶MMP-2、TIMP-2积分光密度及MMP-2/TIMP-2比值。结果：与模型组比,中西药组及西药组小鼠肝转移灶TIMP-2含量增高,且前者与后者比较,差异有显著性意义（P〈0.05）;中西药组和西药组小鼠MMP-2/TIMP-2比值均降低,与模型组及各中药组比较,差异有显著性意义（P〈0.05）,且中西药组与西药组比较亦有显著性意义（P〈0.05）。结论：微调三号方配合化疗可降低肝转移灶内MMP-2/TIMP-2比值,提示对小鼠大肠癌肝转移可能具有抑制作用。     

Surgical treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer in elderly patients

Introduction The liver is the most frequent site of liver metastases (LM) from colorectal cancer. Because of short life expectances and improved nonoperative modalities, the role of liver resection in elderly patients with LM is unclear.Methods During a 15-year period, 197 patients underwent liver resection for colorectal metastases. This study was designed to compare morbidity, mortality, and long-term outcome after hepatic resection in patients aged 70 years and older and in patients younger than 70. According to the age at the time of operation, patients were divided into two groups. Group A included patients aged 70 years or older and group B included younger patients.Results The clinical and pathologic parameters of the two groups were compared and tested as factors affecting early and long-term outcomes after resection. A modified oncologic clinical risk score (CRS) was tested on this series of patients. Overall morbidity was 16.3% (group A 20.7% vs group B 14.6%; P=0.18). Hospital mortality was 3% (5.7% in group A and 2.1% in group B; P=0.19). Actuarial 5 years survival were 30% in group A and 38% in group B (P=ns).Discussion The presence of more than three Fong’s CRS parameters and microscopic involvement of resectional margin directly affected survival. Under meticulous preoperative assessment and postoperative care, liver resection for LM is justified in patients over 70 years of age; age by itself may not be a controindication to surgery.     

Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of early colorectal cancer with liver metastases

Seven (3.3%) of 213 patients who underwent surgery for early colorectal cancer (invasion limited to no deeper than the submucosa) at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, between 1986 and 1995 had synchronous (2 patients) or metachronous (5 patients) liver metastases. The average period from surgical resection of the primary colorectal cancer to the diagnosis of liver metastases was 25 months (range, 0–52 months). The clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features of the primary lesions in these patients were compared with these features in the lesions in consecutive patients with early colorectal cancer who had no evidence of liver metastases within at least 5 years after colorectal resection. Venous invasion was more frequent in the primary lesions with liver metastases than in those without liver metastases (57% vs 0%; P = 0.0035). Expression of p53 and CD44v9 was more frequent in the primary lesions with liver metastases (71% and 100%) than in those without metastases (56% and 72%). In contrast, MUC2 expression was more frequent in the primary lesions without liver metastases (72%) than in those with metastases (43%). Venous invasion is considered to be closely related to liver metastasis, and the immunohistochemical expression of p53 and CD44v9 provides useful information for identifying those patients with early colorectal cancer who have a high risk of developing liver metastases. Received: June 16, 1998/Accepted: October 23, 1998     

Octreotide in control of multiple liver metastases from gastrinoma

The somatostatin analogue octreotide was effective in controlling systemic effects related to multiple liver metastases from a gastrinoma. A 61-year-old man underwent distal gastrectomy for gastrinoma in the duodenum, because a curative resection was not feasible due to metastases found in paraaortic lymph nodes during operation. Multiple liver metastases, associated with an increase in serum gastrin concentration, were found by magnetic resonance imaging 16 months after the operation. Although chemotherapy with dimethyltrizenoimidazole carboxamide was not effective, subcutaneous administration of octreotide was effective in controlling the growth of the liver metastases and in stabilizing serum gastrin. The patient now receives subcutaneous injections of octreotide, at 200µg a day, twice a week, as an outpatient.     

Prognostic factors in patients treated with transarterial radioembolization for unresectable and chemorefractory colorectal cancer with liver metastases

ABSTRACT

Background: Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is used to treat unresectable colorectal cancer with liver metastases (CRCLM). This study aimed to assess survival after TARE and to identify potential prognostic factors in this patient population.

Methods: Patients with unresectable and chemorefractory CRCLM treated with TARE at our institution between February 2006 and September 2015 were included in the study. Survival rate, hepatic tumor response, and potential prognostic factors were analyzed.

Results: In the 43 study patients, the mean follow-up was 15.0 ± 14.2 months, with a median survival of 13.0 months and 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year survival rates of 52.1%, 24.9%, 21.4%, 21.4%, and 7.1%, respectively. The mean activity of yttrium-90 administered was 1.55 ± 0.28 GBq for the disease-controlled group and 1.19 ± 0.27 GBq for the progressive disease group (p= 0.031). Survival was correlated with Child-Pugh class (p< 0.001), hepatic tumor response (p= 0.001), and baseline carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (p= 0.013).

Conclusion: Child-Pugh class B, low degree of hepatic tumor response, and normal baseline CEA levels are prognostic factors for poorer survival after TARE in patients with unresectable and chemorefractory CRCLM. Hepatic tumor response is related to radiation activity delivered to the liver.     

Hepatic resections for bilobar liver metastases from colorectal cancer

The present study was performed to assess survival benefits in patients who underwent a hepatic resection for isolated bilobar liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Thirty-eight patients underwent a curative hepatic resection for isolated colorectal liver metastasis. Among them, 11 patients had bilobar liver metastases and 19 had a solitary metastasis. The remaining 8 patients had unilobar multiple lesions. We investigated survival in two groups those with bilobar and those with solitary metastatic tumors. Survival and disease-free survival were 36% and 18% at 5 years, respectively, in the patients with bilobar liver metastases, while these survivals were 43% and 34% in the patients with solitary liver metastasis. In the 38 patients, repeated hepatic resections were performed in 15 patients with recurrent liver disease. The 5-year survival and disease-free survival rates for these patients were 38% and 27%, respectively, after the second hepatic resections. Of the 11 patients with bilobar liver metastases, 5 underwent a repeated hepatic resection, and they all survived for over 42 months. Based on our observations, a hepatic resection was thus found to be effective even in selected patients with either bilobar nodules or recurrence in the remnant liver.     

Hepatic metastases from gastric cancer:A surgical perspective

Management of patients with hepatic metastases as the sole metastatic site at diagnosis of gastric cancer(synchronous setting) or detected during follow-up(metachronous) is controversial. The prevailing attitude in these cases is passive, leading to surgical palliation and, possibly, to chemotherapy. Authors focused this editorial in order to promote a more pragmatic attitude. They stress the importance of recognizing the good candidates to curative surgery of both gastric cancer and hepatic metastases(synchronous setting) or hepatic disease alone(metachronous disease) from those who will not benefit from surgical therapy. In fact, in adequately selected subgroup of patients surgery, especially if integrated in multimodal therapeutic strategies, may achieve unexpected 5-year survival rates, ranging from 10% to 40%. The critical revision of the literature suggests that some simple clinical criteria exist that may be effectively employed in patients selection. These are mainly related to the gastric cancer(factors T, N, G) and to the extent of hepatic involvement(factor H). Upon these criteria it is possible to adequately select about 50% of cases. In the remaining 50% of cases a critical discussion on a case-by-case basis is recommended, considering that among these patients some potential long-survivors exist, that survival is strictly influenced by the ablation of the tumor bulk and by multimodality treatments including chemotherapy and that in expert institutions this kind of surgery is performed with very low mortality and morbidity rates.     

Hepatic lymph node involvement in resected cases of liver metastases from colorectal cancer

PURPOSE: Lymph node metastasis in the hepatoduodenal ligament is known as one of the most significant prognostic factors after liver resection for colorectal metastasis. However, there have been very few articles on the clinical features of node-positive patients and on detailed distribution of positive nodes. Further, there has been no established strategy on how to handle hepatic lymph nodes during liver resection. To address these subjects, a retrospective study was conducted. METHODS: During the period of 1980 through April 1998, 182 hepatic resections were performed for metastatic colorectal carcinoma. Of these, 78 cases had hepatic lymph node sampling during the operation. Distribution of positive nodes, location of liver metastasis, stage of the primary lesion, and outcome after liver resection were analyzed. RESULTS: Nine cases (12 percent) had secondary lymph node metastases in the hepatoduodenal ligament. The incidence was slightly higher (13.5 percent) in the most recent 44 consecutive cases. There was a tendency for liver metastases in the right lobe to metastasize to No. 12b (or node of the foramen of Winslow, lymph nodes along the common bile duct) and liver metastases in the left lobe to metastasize to No. 8a (anterosuperior group of the lymph nodes along the common hepatic artery). Outcome of node-positive patients (n=9) was extremely poor (P<0.001) compared with that of node-negative patients (n=66), and the most common site of recurrence in the node-positive patients was remnant liver and hepatic lymph nodes. Preoperatively, there were no significant predicting factors for positive hepatic lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: No. 8a and No. 12b nodes are principal nodes that should be palpated and sampled during liver resection to check the secondary lymphatic spread from liver metastases. Hepatic nodal involvement indicates the progression of disease beyond simple liver metastases and may not be the indication for simple surgical removal. Further study, including hepatoduodenal dissection and systemic adjuvant chemotherapy, may elucidate the survival benefit, if any, of liver resection in node-positive patients.