The Disease-Free Interval Between Resection of Primary Colorectal Malignancy and the Detection of Hepatic Metastases Predicts Disease Recurrence But Not Overall Survival

Introduction The disease-free interval (DFI) between resection of primary colorectal cancer (CRC) and diagnosis of liver metastases is considered an important prognostic indicator; however, recent analyses in metastatic CRC found limited evidence to support this notion. Objective The current study aims to determine the prognostic value of the DFI in patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Methods Patients undergoing first surgical treatment of CRLM at three academic centers in The Netherlands were eligible for inclusion. The DFI was defined as the time between resection of CRC and detection of CRLM. Baseline characteristics and Kaplan–Meier survival estimates were stratified by DFI. Cox regression analyses were performed for overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), with the DFI entered as a continuous measure using a restricted cubic spline function with three knots. Results In total, 1374 patients were included. Patients with a shorter DFI more often had lymph node involvement of the primary, more frequently received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for CRLM, and had higher number of CRLM at diagnosis. The DFI significantly contributed to DFS prediction ( p =0.002), but not for predicting OS ( p =0.169). Point estimates of the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for a DFI of 0 versus 12 months and 0 versus 24 months were 1.284 (1.114–1.480) and 1.444 (1.180–1.766), respectively, for DFS, and 1.111 (0.928–1.330) and 1.202 (0.933–1.550), respectively, for OS. Conclusion The DFI is of prognostic value for predicting disease recurrence following surgical treatment of CRLM, but not for predicting OS outcomes.