Rare hepatic metastases of colorectal cancer in livers with symptomatic HBV and HCV hepatitis.

AIM The liver is the most common site of metastases in colorectal cancer but metastases seem to be less common in patients with a chronically liver damage. The aim of our study was to assess the development of metachronous liver metastases in patients affected by HBV or HCV related liver diseases. MATERIAL OF STUDY We retrospectively evaluated above all the development of liver metastases and the 5-year disease free in 457 patients radically treated for colorectal cancer with healthy liver and in 31 patients radically treated for colorectal cancer affected by liver damage (HBV or HCV related). RESULTS Overall incidence of liver metastases was 9% (44/488), in particular 3.2% in infected patients and 9.4% in non-infected patients (p= 0.34). Our results revealed that there is no statistically significant difference between the number of positive lymph nodes of primary colorectal cancer and the number of indifferentiated cancers in infected compared with non-infected patients (29% vs 34.1% and 9.7% vs 13.6% respectively), and the 5-year disease free is better for infected patients (93% and 80%, p = 0.17). DISCUSSION In infected patients we registered a better crude 5-year disease free interval and a fewer incidence of metachronous liver metastases. This difference is in agreement with other results mentioned in literature. CONCLUSION In the light of the reported data, the authors consider that the recent pathogenetic theory of the "metalloproteinase inhibitor" should be taken in account.