Arterial, portal, or systemic chemotherapy for patients with hepatic metastasis of colorectal carcinoma.

Hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma are common and may be resected for cure. The response of liver metastases to systemic chemotherapy is low. In contrast, hepatic arterial chemotherapy produces higher response rates than systemic chemotherapy, but randomized trials have not definitely proved a survival advantage because they allowed cross over. Most adjuvant portal vein chemotherapy studies have shown a survival advantage over the control group, but it is not clear whether this benefit is from the portal vein therapy or from immediate postoperative chemotherapy, since there is rarely a reduction in liver metastases. We describe the results of systemic, hepatic artery infusion, and portal therapy for patients with liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma.