The effects of surgical margin and edge cryotherapy after liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases

Background. A 1 cm margin seen at operation is typically the minimally acceptable margin for liver resections. Patients who fail to achieve this margin are routinely treated with edge cryotherapy at our unit. This paper aims to assess the benefit of edge cryotherapy on survival in patients with such suboptimal margins. Patients and methods. Between January 1990 and February 2006, 608 patients underwent liver resection and/or cryotherapy for colorectal cancer metastases. All liver resections were performed using the CUSA transection method. Data on marginal status were available for 398 patients. Patient demographics, number and size of liver lesions, preoperative and postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), extent of liver resection, margin status, site and date of recurrence, date of last follow-up and death were examined. Results. There were 175 patients in the R0 group (>1 cm macroscopic and ≥1 mm microscopic margin), 103 patients in the R1 group (>1 cm macroscopic and <1 mm microscopic margin) and 120 patients in the R2 group (≤1 cm macroscopic margin and received edge cryotherapy). After a median follow-up of 63 months, there were no significant difference between the 5-year survival rates for R0, R1 and R2 (40%, 30% and 28%, respectively). Conclusion. As long as the surgical margin is clear macroscopically, the microscopic margin width does not affect survival. In patients with suboptimal margins, the addition of edge cryotherapy improves the prospect for long-term survival and may lower recurrence risk.