OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical factors related with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer.

METHODS1 312 colorectal cancer patients treated from 1988 to 1997 were collected to set up the database. Binary and multinomial logistic regression (SPSS 10.0 for windows) and then correlation analysis were used to evaluate the factors concerned.

RESULTSSex, disease course, gross tumor type, differentiation degree, pathological grade, infiltration depth and lymph node metastasis were related with liver metastasis by single factor analysis. Only sex, infiltration depth and lymph node metastasis were related with liver metastasis by multiple factor analysis. More male than female were observed in patients with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer (1.9:1, P = 0.006). Liver metastasis in colorectal cancer was positively related to the infiltration depth into the intestine wall (r = 0.926, P = 0.024). However, the correlation between the distance of lymph node metastasis and liver metastasis in colorectal cancer had no statistical significance (r = 0.748, P = 0.252).

CONCLUSIONSex, depth of infiltration and lymph node metastasis are the main clinical factors related with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer. Male colorectal cancer patients are apt to develop liver metastasis. The deeper the tumor infiltrates, the more the liver metastasis. Age, blood type, symptoms, course, complications, tumor size and site are not related with liver metastasis in colorectal carcinoma.