The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate whether patients over 70 years old are at significantly higher risk for worse outcomes following major liver resection. Hepatic resection is the only treatment offering long-term survival for patients with colorectal liver metastases. As the population considered for metastasectomy is aging, there are still controversial published results regarding the safety of major hepatectomy in elderly patients. Between December 2002 and April 2010, 327 patients underwent major liver resection for colorectal liver metastasis. Patients were stratified into 2 groups: group A, <70 years old; and group B, ≥70 years old. Recorded, analyzed, and compared data across groups included the following: (1) patient characteristics including age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists performance status, primary tumor site and stage, adjuvant chemotherapy, number and size of metastatic lesions; (2) perioperative data including extent of resection, in-hospital mortality, postoperative morbidity, length of hospital stay, length of intensive treatment unit stay and blood loss; and (3) overall survival. The patients' characteristics were similar as were the characteristics of their tumors. There was no difference in overall morbidity (25% versus 22%) or postoperative mortality (2.6% versus 2.9%) (P = 0.44 and 0.57, respectively). The overall survival was 67% versus 62% in group A and B, respectively (P = 0.09). Elderly patients can safely undergo major liver resection for colorectal liver metastases with short- and long-term outcomes comparable with younger patients.
Multidisciplinary treatment for colorectal liver metastases in elderly patients