Prognostic importance of some clinical and therapeutic factors for the effect of portal vein embolization in patients with primarily inoperable colorectal liver metastases

Introduction

Portal vein embolization (PVE) may increase the resectability of liver metastases. However, the problem of PVE is insufficient growth of the liver or tumor progression in some patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of commonly available clinical factors for the result of PVE.

Material and methods

Portal vein embolization was performed in 38 patients with colorectal liver metastases. Effects of age, gender, time between PVE and liver resection, oncological therapy after PVE, indocyanine green retention rate test, synchronous, metachronous and extrahepatic metastases, liver volume before and after PVE, increase of liver volume after PVE and the quality of liver parenchyma before PVE on the result of PVE were evaluated.

Results

Liver resection was performed in 23 (62.2%) patients within 1.3 ±0.4 months after PVE. Tumor progression occurred in 9 (23.7%) patients and 6 (15.8%) patients had insufficient liver hypertrophy. Significant clinical factors of PVE failure were number of liver metastases (cut-off – 4; odds ratio – 4.7; p < 0.03), liver volume after PVE (cut-off 1000 cm³; odds ratio – 5.1; p < 0.02), growth of liver volume after PVE (cut-off 150 cm³; odds ratio – 18.7; p < 0.002), oncological therapy administered concomitantly with PVE (p < 0.003).

Conclusions

Negative clinical factors of resectability of colorectal cancer liver metastases after PVE included more than four liver metastases, liver volume after PVE < 1000 cm³, growth of the contralateral lobe by less than 150 cm³ and concurrent oncological therapy.