Thirty percent of patients that are diagnosed with liver metastasis spread from the colon have a ten year survival rate according to an article recently published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Thirty percent might not sound so great but having breast cancer and knowing that metastasis to the liver can have a grave diagnoses this lifts me up a bit.
According to the article published surgical removal of the site of cancer or multiple sites as well as surrounding healthy tissue of the liver can improve survival rates. The researchers concluded that long-term overall survival of nearly fifty percent at five years and thirty percent at ten years can be achieved with the use of surgery. The researchers stated that "an aggressive approach is justified".
Speak with your doctor about your options for surgery for metastatic liver disease. Treatment may depend on the size of the cancer, the number of places on the liver that have metastasis and the location of the cancer on the liver.
1. Can you tell me which issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology listed these results. Also, the title of the article would be greatly appreciated. I was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and metastasis to the liver. I have undergone surgery to remove the tumor from my colon and am currently undergoing chemo in order to make my liver operable. Thanks,
Posted at 8:47AM on Oct 19th 2006 by Robert Duncan