Objective: To compare the effect of direct surgery or surgery after second-line chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases who did not achieve objective remission after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective case cohort study was used. The clinical and pathological data of 107 patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases who did not achieve objective response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery,Cancer Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from December 2008 to December 2016 were retrospectively collected. There were 71 males and 36 females, median age was 57 years (range: 28 to 79 years). According to the different treatment regimens after neoadjuvant chemotherapy,107 cases were divided into a direct surgery group (direct group,n=65) and an operation after receiving second-line chemotherapy group (second-line group,n=42). The propensity score matching(PSM) of the Logistic regression model was used to match the bilobar distribution of liver metastases and the number of first-line chemotherapy cycles in the two groups of patients. The caliper value was set to 0.10 and the matching ratio was 1∶2. T test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ² test or Fisher's exat test was used to analyzed the data between the tuo groups, respectively. Survival analysis design was used to investigate the difference in prognosis between the two groups of patients. Results: The follow-up time(M(IQR)) was 56.3(34.3) months (range: 2.1 to 95.0 months),and all patients were followed up. After PSM,there were 28 cases in the direct group and 42 cases in the second-line group, there were no significant differences in whether R0 resection was feasible,blood loss,blood transfusion,postoperative complications and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups (all P>0.05). The 1,3,and 5-year progression-free survival(PFS) rates of the direct group were 40.0%,16.5%,and 11.0%,and the 1,3,and 5-year overall survival(OS) rates were 98.5%,61.2%,and 41.4%,respectively, the second-line group 1,3,5 years PFS rates were 35.7%,14.3%,14.3%,1,3,5-year OS rate were 95.2%,55.1%,44.4%,respectively. The median PFS time of the direct group and the second-line group was 8.5 months and 7.5 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.826). The median OS time of the direct group and the second-line group were 33.8 months and 46.9 months,respectively. The difference was not statistically significant(P=0.646).The median PFS time of the direct group and second-line chemotherapy complete remission and partial remission group(CR/PR group) was 10.2 months and 9.1 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.669). The median OS time of the direct group and the second-line CR/PR group was 51.0 months and 46.9 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.427). The results of survival analysis suggested that major liver resection was an independent prognosis factor for PFS (HR=1.809,95%CI: 1.067 to 3.067,P=0.028) and OS(HR=2.751,95%CI: 1.317 to 5.747,P=0.007). Second-line chemotherapy was not an independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR=0.945, 95%CI:0.570 to 1.567,P=0.828) and OS (HR=0.866,95%CI: 0.468 to 1.602,P=0.646). Conclusions: There is no significant difference in the short-term outcome and long-term prognosis between direct surgery patients and second-line chemotherapy followed by surgery. Second-line chemotherapy is not an independent prognostic factor for colorectal cancer liver metastases patients who fail to achieve objective response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Cohort Studies ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and bone metastasis (BM) suffer from greatly reduced life quality and a dismal prognosis. However, BM in HCC has long been overlooked possibly due to its relatively low prevalence in previous decades. To date, no consensus or guidelines have been reached or formulated for the prevention and management of HCC BM. Our narrative review manifests the increasing incidence of HCC BM to sound the alarm for additional attention. The risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic approaches of HCC BM are detailed to provide a panoramic view of this disease to clinicians and specialists. We further delineate an informative cancer bone metastatic cascade based on evidence from recent studies and point out the main factors responsible for the tumor-associated disruption of bone homeostasis and the formation of skeletal cancer lesions. We also present the advances in the pathological and molecular mechanisms of HCC BM to shed light on translational opportunities. Dilemmas and challenges in the treatment and investigation of HCC BM are outlined and discussed to encourage further endeavors in the exploration of underlying pathogenic and molecular mechanisms, as well as the development of novel effective therapies for HCC patients with BM.
Bone Neoplasms/secondary* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy* ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/therapy* ; Prognosis

A 66-year-old female patient was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma accompanied by neuropathic pain induced by a metastatic tumor that compromised root and spinal canal. Although her pain was relieved following medical treatment, breakthrough pain occurring 1-2 times a day was still distressing. Neuropathic pain in her right lower limb caused discomfort and irritability and decreased her quality of life. We had limited options to adjust her prescription drug regime, due to the side effect of these drugs. Although acupuncture therapy was only performed at her home once a week, the efficacy was outstanding. The patient did not report any further instances of breakthrough pain, and she did not require additional bolus morphine. She could comfortably live in her familiar surroundings with her family and did not require any emergency room visits or admission into the hospital during the last month of her life. She had excellent quality of life in the terminal period of her life, and could even participate in a family function during this time. The present case report suggests that acupuncture may have a role in treating neuropathic pain induced by bone metastasis in patients with advanced cancer across clinical and in-home settings.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Bone Neoplasms ; complications ; secondary ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Female ; Home Care Services ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Neoplasms ; pathology ; Neuralgia ; etiology ; therapy ; Quality of Life

The liver is the most common anatomical site for hematogenous metastases of colorectal cancer, and colorectal liver metastases is one of the most difficult and challenging points in the treatment of colorectal cancer. In order to improve the diagnosis and comprehensive treatment in China, the Guidelines have been edited and revised for several times since 2008, including the overall evaluation, personalized treatment goals and comprehensive treatments, to prevent the occurrence of liver metastases, improve the resection rate of liver metastases and survival. The revised Guideline includes the diagnosis and follow-up, prevention, MDT effect, surgery and local ablative treatment, neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, and comprehensive treatment, and with advanced experience, latest results, detailed content, and strong operability.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; China ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; secondary ; therapy ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prognostic factors of patients with unresectable liver metastasis colorectal cancer after failed conversion chemotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective, case-controlled study was performed. Study subjects were 105 patients who were diagnosed with synchronous liver metastasis colorectal cancer after failed chemotherapy (metastasis evaluated as unresectable after the conversion chemotherapy) at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University from January 2012 to December 2015. Overall survival(OS) was retrospectively analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was used to compare survival among groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted for prognosis using Cox regression model. RESULTS: Of 105 cases,70 were male and 35 were female with median age of 60 years old. Twenty-one patients had right colon cancer, 41 had left colon cancer, 42 had rectal cancer and 1 had synchronous cancers(sigmoid colon and rectum). One hundred and two (97.1%) patients were cT3-4 and 90 patients were cN+ (imaging diagnosis). Eighty-nine (84.8%) patients were loaded with 2 or more liver metastases with the median maximum diameter of 48.3 mm. The patients were followed up for 3 to 43 months from the day of diagnosis. The median OS was 11 months (interquartile range, 8-18). The median OS of patients with cN0, cN1 and cN2 stage was 17, 13 and 10 months, respectively(P=0.026). The median OS of patients with single lesion, 2-3 lesions, 4-10 lesions and more than 10 lesions was 15, 15, 17 and 9 months, respectively (P=0.002). OS of patients with maximum diameter of liver metastatic lesion ≤ 50 mm, 51-100 mm and >100 mm was 15, 10 and 8 months, respectively(P=0.003). The median OS of patients with chemotherapy response of partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) was 17, 14 and 8 months, respectively(P<0.001). OS was 17 months in patients receiving second line chemotherapy and was 10 months in those without second line chemotherapy (P<0.001). OS in patients undergoing primary tumor resection was 13 month and in those without primary tumor resection was 9 months; the difference was not significant (P=0.060). Multivariate analysis showed that cN2(HR=2.115, 95%CI:1.089-4.109, P=0.027), the maximum diameter of liver metastatic lesion more than 100 mm (HR=3.112, 95%CI:1.455-6.657, P=0.003), chemotherapy response of PD (HR=4.435, 95%CI:2.506-7.533,P<0.001) and without second line chemotherapy(HR=4.432,95%CI:2.186-8.986, P=0.010) were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS For patients with unresectable liver metastasis from colorectal cancer after failed conversion chemotherapy, prognostic factors include cN2, the maximum diameter of liver metastatic lesion, chemotherapy response and second line chemotherapy. Whether the resection of primary tumor can prolong OS further study.
Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; China ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Failure

OBJECTIVETo investigate the safety and efficacy of organ preservation surgery or "watch and wait" strategy for rectal cancer patients who are evaluated as clinical complete response(cCR) or near-cCR following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT).

METHODFrom March 2011 to June 2016, 35 patients with mid-low rectal cancers who were diagnosed as cCR or near-cCR following nCRT underwent organ preservation surgery with local excision or surveillance following "watch and wait" strategy in the Peking University Cancer Hospital. All the patients received re-evaluation and re-staging 6-12 weeks after the completion of nCRT, according to Habr-Gama and MSKCC criteria for the diagnosis of cCR or near-cCR. The near-cCR patients who received local excision and were pathologically diagnosed as T0Nx were also regarded as cCR. The end-points of this study included organ-preservation rate (OPR), sphincter-preservation rate (SPR), non-re-growth disease-free survival (NR-DFS), stoma-free survival, cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival(OS). Kaplan-Meier curve was used to estimate the survival data at 3 years.

RESULTSA total of 35 cases were analyzed including 24 males (68.6%) and 11 females (31.4%). The median age was 60 (range 37-79) years and the median distance from tumor to anal edge was 4(2-8) cm. Thirty-three patients received 50.6 Gy/22f IMRT with capecitabine and two patients received 50 Gy/25f RT with capecitabine. The cCR and near-cCR rates were 74.3%(26/35) and 25.7%(9/35) respectively. Excision biopsy was performed in 4 near-cCR cases to confirm the diagnosis of cCR. The non-re-growth DFS rate was 14.3%(5/35) and the median time of tumor re-growth was 6.7 (4.7-37.4) months. In five patients with tumor re-growth, four were salvaged by radical rectal resections and one received local excision. The distant metastasis rate was 5.7%(2/35), one patient presented resectable liver metastasis and received radical resection, another patient presented multiple bone metastases and was still alive. The median follow-up time was 43.7(6.1-71.4) months. At three years, the organ-preservation rate was 88.6%(31/35), the sphincter-preservation rate was 97.1% (34/35). No local recurrence was observed in five patients who received salvage surgery. The non-re-growth DFS was 94.0%. Three patients died of non-rectal cancer related events. The cancer-specific survival was 100%, the overall survival was 92.7% and the stoma-free survival rate was 90.0%.

CONCLUSIONSOrgan preservation surgery or "watch and wait" strategy for cCR or near-cCR patients is feasible and achieves good outcomes. This strategy can be an alternative to standard care, improve patient's quality of life and facilitate tailored treatment for mid-low rectal cancer following nCRT, however, it should be cautiously applied in near-cCR patients before local excision biopsy.

Adult ; Aged ; Anal Canal ; surgery ; Biopsy ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Digestive System Surgical Procedures ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; prevention & control ; Organ Preservation ; Quality of Life ; Rectal Neoplasms ; mortality ; surgery ; therapy ; Reoperation ; Salvage Therapy ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Watchful Waiting ; methods

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application of multidisciplinary treatment (MDT) in patients with liver metastasis of colorectal cancer(CLM).

METHODSClinical data of 118 patients with liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, including 32 patients with MDT (MDT group) and 86 patients without MDT (control group), from February 2014 to April 2015 in PLA General Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Compliance of preoperative examination and adjuvant therapy, and efficacy-associated indexes were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS(1) As compared to control group, statistically significant increase in imaging examination ratio was found in MDT group: chest CT [87.5%(28/32) vs. 40.7%(35/86), P=0.0000], abdominal MRI [84.4%(27/32) vs.61.6%(53/86), P=0.019], pelvic MRI [63.7%(7/11) vs. 24.3%(8/33), P=0.017]. The preoperative assessment of TNM staging was also higher in MDT group [100%(32/32) vs. 20.9%(18/86), P=0.0000], while there was no significant difference in accuracy rate of TNM staging between the two groups [81.3%(26/32) vs. 66.7%(12/18), P=0.2465]. (2) Rates of preoperative chemotherapy and chemotherapy completion were also higher in MDT group than those in control group [90.6%(29/32) vs. 62.8%(54/86), P=0.0033; 82.8% (24/29) vs. 57.4% (31/54), P=0.000], but conversion rate of unresectable CLM showed no significant difference [24.0% (6/25) vs. 14.3% (7/49), P=0.299 ]. (3) Rate of one-stage resection or ablation was higher in MDT group compared to control group [76.9%(10/13) vs. 36.0%(9/25), P=0.038], and resection rate of metastasis nidus was also higher in MDT group [77.0%(20/26) vs. 44.9%(13/29), P=0.015]. No significant differences were observed in rates of R0 resection, positive surgical margin, lymph node clearance, ablation of metastasis nidus, pathological complete response, postoperative chemotherapy or postoperative complications (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONMDT has the advantages on standardization of preoperative examination and perioperative chemotherapy, and can improve the rate of one-stage resection or ablation, as well as resection of metastasis nidus.

Aged ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

Multi-disciplinary treatment (MDT) is an effective pattern to implement the standardized and individualized treatment for cancer. Under the pattern of MDT which integrates the surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, interventional therapy, targeted therapy and immune therapy, there has been a landmark progress in the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. Curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy has been established as a standard treatment for stage III( colon cancer, but it is still controversial about whether patients with stage II( colon cancer should receive adjuvant chemotherapy and which regimen is preferred. Decision making regarding the use of adjuvant therapy for stage II( patients should not only depend upon the clinicopathological features but also individualized discussion between patients and physicians about the biological behavior of the disease, evidence supporting the efficacy, and possible toxicity. Radical operation following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is currently the standard modality for locally advanced rectal cancer, but the strategy of 'Wait and See' is proposed by some researchers for those achieving complete response after chemoradiotherapy, although there is no sufficient supportive data yet. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer should undergo an upfront evaluation and discussion by a multidisciplinary team before the initial treatment. Achieving a negative surgical margin with adequate remanent liver reserve is the criteria for determining the resectability of liver metastasis. Both adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy are two alternatives for initially resectable liver metastasis. Concomitant with the progress of medicine, the MDT is moving toward a precise treatment system oriented by genes and being able to predict the prognosis, efficacy and side effects exactly.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Prognosis

Precision medicine is becoming the goal of translational research on colorectal cancer. Accurate molecular subtyping contributes to better guidance of clinical practice. The current TNM staging system of colorectal cancer is inadequate in terms of guiding clinical practice, such as the underestimation of prognosis of with stage II( and III( colorectal cancer TNM staging, and identification of high-risk and low-risk patients with stage II( colorectal cancer. Researchers from Europe and US have proposed a number of molecular subtypings with clinicopathological phenotypes and molecular phenotypes, which has certain practical significance and is beneficial to the choice of treatment regimen and targeted drugs. But the current results of subtyping research require further validations by clinical large scale multi-center trials. Based on precision medicine, molecular subtyping gradually reveals its clinical significance and is optimized through combining genomics with various clinical phenotypes, indicating its guidance for clinical practice, which is the inevitable course of precision medicine accomplishment. In recent years, there have been many new advances in colorectal cancer liver metastasis treatment. The prognosis of colorectal cancer patients undergoing resection of liver metastasis lesion is similar to those with stage III(. Early recurrence within 6 months after translational treatment and resection occurred in about one third of the patients with initially unresectable liver metastasis, and the overall survival was poor. Thus, an evaluation system should be established in order to avoid the strong therapy and strive for better quality of life in some patients. Individualized treatment for colorectal cancer is emphasized increasingly. Body fluid (peripheral blood and urine) marker detection is a recent research hotspot, including serum protein(polypeptide), plasma miRNA, circulating tumor cells and circulating nucleic acid.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; urine ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Precision Medicine ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life ; Translational Medical Research

Adenocarcinoma ; drug therapy ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; adverse effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Fever ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Middle Aged ; Quinazolines ; therapeutic use