Table 1. Baseline characteristics.

	Hepatic resection, n=38		LLD, n=215		Non-LLD, n=226
	n	%	n	%	n	%	P-value
Sex
Male	26	68.4	151	70.2	158	69.9	0.975
Female	12	31.6	64	29.8	68	30.1
Age at randomisation
Median (years)	62.7		61.8		63.5		0.131
Range	32–73		32–78		22–79
Karnofsky performance status
100%	24	63.2	76	35.3	90	39.8	<0.001
70–90%	14	36.8	139	64.7	136	60.2
Localization of primary
Colon	23	60.5	136	63.3	128	56.6	0.365
Rectal	15	39.5	79	36.7	98	43.4
T-stage of primary
T1/T2	5	13.2	15	7.0	23	10.2	0.101
T3/T4	33	86.8	190	88.4	186	82.3
NA	—	—	10	4.6	17	7.5
N-stage of primary
Nodal negative	15	39.5	37	17.2	70	31.0	<0.001
Nodal positive	23	60.5	165	76.7	130	57.5
NA	—	—	13	6.0	26	11.5
Resection of primary
No	2	5.3	11	5.1	16	7.1	0.673
Yes	36	94.7	204	94.9	210	92.9
Development of metastasis
Synchronous	29	76.3	159	74.0	102	45.1	<0.001
Metachronous	9	23.7	56	26.0	124	54.9
Localization of metastasis
Liver	38	100.0	215	100.0	150	68.5	<0.001
Liver only	36	94.7	215	100.0	—	—	<0.001
Lung	2	5.3	—	—	123	56.2	<0.001
Lymph node	2	5.3	—	—	74	33.8	<0.001
Peritoneal	—	—	—	—	15	6.8	<0.001
Other	—	—	—	—	13	5.9	<0.001
No. of metastatic sites
1	36	94.7	215	100.0	40	17.7	<0.001
⩾2	2	5.3	—	—	186	82.3
CEA level at baseline
<200 ng ml−1	32	84.2	132	61.4	146	64.6	0.108
>200 ng ml−1	5	13.2	57	26.5	47	20.8
NA	1	2.6	26	12.1	33	14.6
Alkaline phosphatase
⩽300 U l−1	28	73.7	93	43.3	112	49.6	<0.001
>300 U l−1	9	23.7	107	49.8	91	40.3
NA	1	26	15	7.0	23	10.2
LDH
⩽250 U l−1	32	84.2	107	49.8	131	58.0	<0.001
>250 U l−1	6	15.8	106	49.3	89	39.4
NA	—	—	2	0.9	6	2.6
WBC
<8.000 per μl	26	68.4	115	53.5	130	57.5	0.224
⩾8.000 per μl	12	31.6	96	44.7	88	40.9
NA	—	—	4	1.9	8	3.6
Haemoglobin
⩽10 g dl−1	10	26.3	59	27.4	54	23.9	0.739
>10 g dl−1	28	73.7	152	70.7	165	73.0
NA	—	—	4	1.9	7	3.1
Platelet count
<400.000 per μl	32	84.2	169	78.6	182	80.5	0.666
⩾400.000 per μl	6	15.8	42	19.5	37	16.4
NA	—	—	4	1.9	7	3.1
Koehne's Prognostic Groups
Low	31	81.6	212	98.6	52	23.0	<0.001
Intermediate	6	15.8	1	0.5	125	55.3
High	—	—	2	0.9	31	13.7
NA	1	2.6	—	—	18	8.0
Treatment
FUFIRI	23	60.5	94	43.7	121	53.5	0.045
mIROX	15	39.5	121	56.3	105	46.5

Abbreviations: CEA=carcinogenic embryonic antigen; LDH=lactate dehydrogenase; FUFIRI=5-fuorouracil/folinic acid/irinotecan; mIROX=modified irinotecan plus oxaliplatin; NA=not assessable; WBC=white blood cell count. Statistically significant P-values are shown as bold entries.