Table 1.
Clinical characteristics
| Variables | Group A, N (%) | Group B, N (%) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 384 | 117 | – |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 251 (65.3%) | 75 (64.1%) | 0.809 |
| Female | 133 (34.6%) | 42 (35.9%) | |
| Age (years) | |||
| Median (range) | 68.3 (56.9) | 62.5 (47.2) | <0.01 |
| Primary tumour site | |||
| Colon | 259 (67.4%) | 95 (81.1%) | <0.01 |
| Rectum | 118 (30.7%) | 22 (18.8%) | |
| T stage | |||
| I | 8 (2.0%) | 2 (1.7%) | 0.547 |
| II | 29 (7.5%) | 14 (12.9%) | |
| III | 233 (60.6%) | 78 (66.6%) | |
| IV | 69 (17.9%) | 21 (17.9%) | |
| N stage | |||
| 0 | 115 (29.9%) | 32 (27.3%) | 0.363 |
| I | 141 (36.7%) | 38 (32.4%) | |
| II | 91 (23.6%) | 35 (30.0%) | |
| Pre-operative chemotherapy for primary cancer | 71 (18.5%) | 19 (16.2%) | 0.641 |
| Pre-operative radiotherapy for primary cancer | 56 (14.5%) | 7 (5.9%) | 0.023 |
| Synchronicity of liver metastases | |||
| Synchronous | 291 (75.7%) | 89 (76.0%) | 0.935 |
| Metachronous | 90 (23.4%) | 27 (23.1%) | |
| Number of liver metastases | |||
| 1 | 133 (34.6%) | 35 (29.9%) | 0.072 |
| 2–3 | 133 (34.6%) | 34 (29.5%) | |
| 4–5 | 67 (17.5%) | 25 (21.3%) | |
| >5 | 41 (10.1%) | 19 (16.2%) | |
| Maximum size of metastases (mm) | |||
| Median (range) | 30 (499) | 30 (149) | 0.897 |
| Location of liver metastases | |||
| Unilobar | 215 (55.9%) | 61 (52.1%) | 0.524 |
| Bilobar | 166 (43.2%) | 55 (47%) | |
| CEA at diagnosis (ng/ml) | |||
| Median (range) | 17.0 (9980) | 9.7 (5244) | 0.043 |
| Initial unresectable liver disease | 84 (21.8%) | 33 (28.2%) | 0.127 |
| Major hepatectomy | 229 (59.6%) | 71 (60.7%) | 0.395 |
| Two stage resection | 23 (6.0%) | 12 (10.3%) | 0.113 |
| Local treatment | 73 (19.0%) | 17 (14.5%) | 0.269 |
| Preoperative chemotherapy | |||
| Number of cycles | |||
| Median (range) | 6 (17) | 6 (12) | 0.441 |
| Pre-operative clinical response | 0.348 | ||
| Complete/Partial | 233 (60.7%) | 78 (66.7%) | |
| No change/Progression | 68 (17.7%) | 29 (24.7%) | |
| Post-operative chemotherapy | |||
| Number of cycles | |||
| Median (range) | 6 (24) | 6 (11) | 0.108 |
| Post-operative clinical response | 0.423 | ||
| No recurrence | 133 (34.6%) | 32 (27.4%) | |
| Recurrence/Progression | 121 (31.5%) | 27 (23.1%) |
SD, standard deviation, CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen.