Retrospective study on the effects of lipiodolization before a potentially curative hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases: long-term results of a pilot study.

Background/aims: Lipiodolization, a selective regional cancer chemotherapeutic modality using lipiodol plus anticancer drugs, can prolong the survival time of patients with unresectable liver cancer. A preliminary study was conducted with adjuvant lipiodolization before a potentially curative hepatectomy for patients with metachronous colorectal liver metastases. The ultimate aim of this study was to improve the long-term survival after hepatectomy.

Methodology: Twenty-one consecutive patients with colorectal hepatic metastases were included in this study. Seven patients underwent preoperative lipiodolization, while the remaining 14 patients did not receive any preoperative adjuvant therapy. The clinicopathological features and prognoses of these patients were investigated. The median follow-up period after a curative hepatectomy was 56 months.

Results: The clinicopathological factors did not differ markedly between the 2 groups. However, the cumulative survival rate of the 7 patients receiving preoperative lipiodolization was significantly (P < 0.05) better than that in those not receiving any preoperative treatment.

Conclusions: Based on the above encouraging findings, we therefore propose that a prospective randomized trial should be carried out to confirm the beneficial effects of our adjuvant chemotherapeutic modality on patient survival following a curative hepatectomy for the patients with colorectal liver metastases.