Why the liver?

SandiaBuddy

Liver metasteses are a frequently discussed topic on this forum.  My surgeon says if I have a recurrence it is about a 66% chance it will be in the liver.  I found this recent abstract (I cannot get the full article) both troubling and interesting:

https://academic.oup.com/carcin/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/carcin/bgy115/5090278

Liver metastases develop in more than half of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and are associated with a poor prognosis. The factors influencing liver metastasis of CRC are poorly characterized, but this information is urgently needed. We have now discovered that small extracellular vesicles (sEVs, exosomes) derived from CRC can be specifically targeted to liver tissue. . .

Another:

https://www.ajmc.com/journals/supplement/2018/managing-evolving-landscape-colorectal-cancer/evolution-biomarkers-guide-treatment-metastatic-colorectal-cancer

Approximately 50% to 60% of patients with CRC develop metastatic CRC (mCRC), and 80% to 90% will have unresectable liver metastases.

mountainhiker

1...2...3...

Liver first, lungs second, after that it's anyone's guess.

darcher

  The lymph nodes go to the

  The lymph nodes go to the liver from the colon and rectum. Theyre the first thing infected with cancer cells outside the colon itself.  That's what I was told and even though mine were clean they still made me do 4 months of chemo.  I'm glad they did since who knows how many cells it takes to start up a new tumor.  

Kazenmax

Lung

It also depends on where the tumor is located. My cancer came back in my left lung. My doctor said there's lots of blood vessels in the area of my tumor (very low, close to sphincter). He figures microscopic cells got through.

K

beaumontdave

darcher said:

  The lymph nodes go to the

  The lymph nodes go to the liver from the colon and rectum. Theyre the first thing infected with cancer cells outside the colon itself.  That's what I was told and even though mine were clean they still made me do 4 months of chemo.  I'm glad they did since who knows how many cells it takes to start up a new tumor.  

My onc. was very succinct

My onc. was very succinct about it, said "it's just the next stop". I was good with that answer, lol..........................................Dave

SandiaBuddy

Kazenmax said:

Lung

It also depends on where the tumor is located. My cancer came back in my left lung. My doctor said there's lots of blood vessels in the area of my tumor (very low, close to sphincter). He figures microscopic cells got through.

K

Ugh

Ugh!  These cavalier statistics they throw into academic articles are certainly worrisome.  I guess the only answer is to live life to its fullest every day.

beaumontdave

I'm glad I didn't read those

I'm glad I didn't read those tidbits early on, they sound worse than the odds I did read, and they're one more reason to tell my story and say " here I am". 

BGNor

mountainhiker said:

1...2...3...

Liver first, lungs second, after that it's anyone's guess.

Depends on the location of

Depends on the location of the primary cancer I believe. Rectal cancer is more prone to metastase til lungs.

I had rectal cancer, now got 9 lung mets. Liver is OK - so far.