Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Oncol. May 24, 2026; 17(5): 118670
Published online May 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.118670
Published online May 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.118670
Impact of surgery for colorectal cancer liver metastasis: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Fausto Petrelli, Medical Oncology Unit, ASST Bergamo Ovest, Treviglio, Bergamo 24047, Italy
Sara Cherri, Michela Libertini, Alberto Zaniboni, Department of Oncology, Fondazione Poliambulanza, Brescia 25124, Italy
Antonio Ghidini, Roberta Bukovec, Luisa Roncari, Department of Oncology, Casa di Cura Igea, Milano 20129, Italy
Mauro Rossitto, Lorenzo Dottorini, Marcella Arru, Department of Oncology, ASST Bergamo Ovest, Treviglio, Bergamo 24047, Lombardy, Italy
Author contributions: Petrelli F, Cherri S, Ghidini A, Bukovec R, Rossitto M, Roncari L, Libertini M, and Zaniboni A contributed to the design and implementation of the research; Petrelli F to the analysis of the results and to the writing of the manuscript; Arru M and Dottorini L supervised the project.
AI contribution statement: We confirm that all scientific content, analysis, and conclusions are the result of the authors’ independent work. Language editing tools were used only for minor language refinement. No images included in the manuscript were generated by AI.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Sara Cherri, MD, Department of Oncology, Fondazione Poliambulanza, Via Bissolati 57, Brescia 25124, Italy. sara.m.cherri@gmail.com
Received: January 8, 2026
Revised: February 6, 2026
Accepted: March 18, 2026
Published online: May 24, 2026
Processing time: 132 Days and 19.1 Hours
Revised: February 6, 2026
Accepted: March 18, 2026
Published online: May 24, 2026
Processing time: 132 Days and 19.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The survival benefit of surgical resection for colorectal liver metastases has been debated, particularly in heterogeneous clinical settings. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes available evidence and shows that surgery is associated with improved overall and progression-free survival compared with non-surgical approaches, although heterogeneity is substantial and most data are observational. Future studies should focus on defining predictive factors for benefit and identifying patient subgroups in whom alternative strategies may be more appropriate.