Status after second resection of the liver

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sdp
sdp Member Posts: 181
in Colorectal Cancer #1

I had a second resection few days back and was researching of it being curative and i could only find one research paper of 2011 which concludes as follows ;

Repeat hepatectomy for mCRC is feasible in highly selected patients, with acceptable perioperative morbidity and mortality. Although repeat hepatectomy should be considered, recurrence rates are high. Although the initial hepatectomy for mCRC is potentially curative, recurrence of metastatic disease in the liver is unlikely to be cured..

does se his mean that now we are never to be cured cause we were lucky to have a recurrence that could be resected. I thought the whole purpose of a resection - and a liver limited recurrence - was that if it could be operated we wold have the same chance at a cure  that we would have had after the first resection. 

Any second time recurrences who have had a resection and have had no further recurrences atleast two years from their last resection  / recurrence . Can you comment on what this study says ? By the way this is the only study that actually talks about resection of a recurrence and possibilities thereafter.

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  • lp1964
    lp1964 Member Posts: 1,239 Member
    #2
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    I think this is...

    ...a complicated issue. I have no experience with liver resection, but this is how I imagine it personally. When you have a primary cancer, after a while some cancer cells get loose and most of them die or get taken care by the immun system. Some cells get stock somewhere else and start a new colony. This means that the immun system wasn't successful. Just because they found one metastasis it does not mean that there are no more smaller ones that current technology cannot detect. Unfortunately once the cancer cells enter the lymphatic or blood system, the chance for cure dropes. There are also dormant cancer cells that don't devide for a long time, so chemo doesn't work on them. If you think about it cancer cells are the ultimate survivors. 

    I hope you will have a quick revery and you never have to do this again.

    Laz

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