Is resection for noncolorectal, nonneuroendocrine liver metastases justified?

Does hepatectomy improve outcomes of breast cancer with liver metastasis? A nationwide analysis of real-world data in Taiwan

Background

Liver metastases from breast cancer are associated with poor prognosis, and treatment options are usually restricted to palliative systemic therapy. The impact of liver resection on metastasis remains controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate whether liver resection can offer better survival outcomes in cases of isolated liver metastases from breast cancer.

Methods

We conducted a nationwide cohort study using a claims dataset from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). We identified all patients with breast cancer (diagnostic code ICD-9: 174.x) from the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patient Database (RCIPD) of the NHIRD who underwent mastectomy between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2008. Patients with other malignancies (history, initially, or during follow-up), those with a history of metastasis prior to or at initial admission for mastectomy, and those without liver metastases were excluded. Patients with other metastases between mastectomy and liver metastasis and those who died at first admission for liver resection were also excluded. All patients were followed up until December 31, 2013, or withdraw from the database because of death.

Results

Data were analyzed for 1,116 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (resection group: 89; non-resection group: 1,027). There were no differences in age, Charlson Comorbidity Index, or major coexisting diseases except renal disease between two groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the liver resection group had significantly better overall survival (OS) than the non-resection group. (1-year: 96.6% vs. 52.3%, 2-year: 86.8% vs. 35.4%, 3-year: 72.3% vs. 25.2%, 5-year: 51.6% vs. 16.9%, respectively, p<0.001). Cox analysis revealed that the liver resection group exhibited a significant improvement in patient survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.321, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.234–0.440, p<0.001).

Conclusion

These findings indicate that liver resection may offer better survival benefit in patients with breast cancer who develop new liver metastases post mastectomy.

Surgery for Liver Metastasis of Non-Colorectal and Non-Neuroendocrine Tumors

Surgery has become well established for patients with colorectal and neuroendocrine liver metastases. However, the value of this procedure in non-colorectal and non-neuroendocrine metastases (NCRNNELMs) remains unclear. We analyzed the outcomes of patients that underwent liver surgery for NCRNNELMs and for colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs) between 2012 and 2017 at our institution. Prognostic factors of overall and recurrence-free survival were analyzed, and a comparison of survival between two groups was performed. Seventy-three patients (30 NCRNNELM and 43 CRLM) were included in this study. Although the mean age, extrahepatic metastases, and rate of reoperation were significantly different between the groups, recurrence-free survival was comparable. The 5-year overall survival rates were 38% for NCRNNELM and 55% for CRLM. In univariate analysis, a patient age of ≥60 years, endodermal origin of the primary tumor, and major complications were negative prognostic factors. Resection for NCRNNELM showed comparable results to resection for CRLM. Age, the embryological origin of the primary tumor, and the number of metastases might be the criteria for patient selection.