Surgical management of hepatic metastases of colorectal origin.

Colorectal cancer is the most frequent digestive cancer. Prognosis is greatly depending on the TNM stage at the time of diagnosis. Fifty percent of all patients shall develop, synchronously or metachronously, liver metastases.

[Monoclonal antibodies therapies for colorectal cancer: cétuximab, panitumumab and bevacizumab].

Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer in Europe, Its prognosis is poor, since median survival time for metastatic patients is about 20 months. Progresses in molecular biology have lead to significant improvement in the management of metastatic colorectal cancer with targeted therapies. The monoclonal antibodies anti-EGFR and anti-VEGFR improve the overall and the progression-free survival.

[Treatment of (unresectable) hepatocellular carcinoma at an intermediate or advanced stage].

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the main primitive tumor of the liver. It occurs in the setting of liver cirrhosis in more than 90% of the cases in developing countries. The prognosis depends on the size, number and extension of the tumor as well as on the severity of the underlying liver disease.

[When should we resect colorectal liver metastases?].

6000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year in Belgium. 50% of these patients shall develop liver metastasis. Resection remains the only chance of long term survival and must be considered as an endpoint from the beginning of the treatment.

Magnesium wasting associated with epidermal-growth-factor receptor-targeting antibodies in colorectal cancer: a prospective study.

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that magnesium wasting occurs in patients who are treated with epidermal-growth-factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting antibodies for colorectal cancer. The mechanism of this side-effect is unknown, and if all or a subset of patients are affected is also unclear. We aimed to assess the incidence, characteristics, and predictive factors of magnesium wasting during treatment with EGFR-targeting antibodies, and to study the pathophysiology of this phenomenon.