Effects of the proximity of metastasis to the central vessels of the liver on surgical outcomes and survival in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis

Background Resectability of liver metastasis is important to establish a treatment strategy for patients with colorectal cancer. We aimed to evaluate the effect of the distance from metastasis to the centre of the liver on surgical outcomes and survival after hepatectomy. Methods The clinical data of a total of 155 patients who underwent hepatectomy for colorectal cancer with liver metastasis were retrospectively reviewed. We measured the minimal length from metastasis to the bifurcation of the portal vein at the primary branch of the Glissonean tree and defined it as ‘centrality’. The postoperative outcomes and survival among the patients were then analysed. Results Anatomic resections were more frequently performed, and the operative time was longer in the patients with high centrality (≤1.5 cm) than in the patients with low centrality (>1.5 cm). A size of ≥5 cm for the largest lesion, a number of lesions of ≥3 and centrality of ≤1.5 cm were found to be the independent risk factors of a positive resection margin after hepatectomy. The patients with high centrality showed worse recurrence‐free survival than those with low centrality; however, there was no significant difference found in the overall survival. In the multivariate analysis, high centrality was not found to be associated with worse recurrence‐free and overall survival. Conclusion Centrality significantly affected the surgical outcomes and treatment strategy for liver metastasis but did not influence the survival of the patients with colorectal cancer. Active efforts through surgical resections are important to treat liver metastasis of high centrality. The proximity to central vessels was a significant factor affecting the surgical outcomes and treatment strategy for liver metastasis. However, it was not related to the survival of colorectal cancer patients.