Table 1.

Summary of the evolving indications for surgical resection of liver metastases

Characteristics	Current approach	Comments
Does the number of tumors matter?	Any	The number of liver metastases is less important than obtaining an R0 resection
Does tumor size matter?	Any	Large tumor size alone should not be considered a factor in the resectability of liver metastases
Does the surgical margin matter?	R0 or radiofrequency ablation for R1
Is extrahepatic disease a contraindication to liver resection?	Treatable extrahepatic disease	Resectable extrahepatic disease is not an absolute contraindication to resection
Future liver remnant	Adequate remnant liver	R0 resection possible only with complex procedure (portal vein embolization (PVE) used to induce compensatory hypertrophy in the future liver remnant, two-stage hepatectomy, hepatectomy combined with radiofrequency ablation)
Lymph nodes	In absence of celiac axis metastases, hepatic pedicle lymph node metastases may be resected
Venous involvement	Caval/hepatic vein resection with reconstruction can be performed