Published online Jan 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i2.519
Peer-review started: June 3, 2015
First decision: September 11, 2015
Revised: October 6, 2015
Accepted: November 13, 2015
Article in press: November 13, 2015
Published online: January 14, 2016
Processing time: 222 Days and 10.6 Hours
Surgical resection is the only option of cure for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the risk of recurrence within 18 mo after metastasectomy is around 75% and the liver is the most frequent site of relapse. The current international guidelines recommend an adjuvant therapy after surgical resection of CRC metastases despite the lower level of evidence (based on the quality of studies in this setting). However, there is still no standard treatment and the effective role of an adjuvant therapy remains controversial. The aim of this review is to report the state-of-art of systemic chemotherapy and regional chemotherapy with hepatic arterial infusion in the management of patients after resection of metastases from CRC, with a literature review and meta-analysis of the relevant randomized controlled trials.
Core tip: Surgical resection is the only option of cure for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). The risk of recurrence within 18 mo after metastasectomy is about 75% and the liver is the main organ involved. However, there is still no standard treatment and the effective role of adjuvant therapy remains controversial. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge on the role of systemic chemotherapy and regional chemotherapy with hepatic arterial infusion in the management of patients after resection of metastases from CRC.