Repeat hepatectomy for recurrent liver metastasis from gastric carcinoma.

Background: The efficacy of repeat hepatectomy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal liver metastases is widely accepted. However, the benefits of such treatment for intrahepatic recurrence of gastric cancer liver metastasis remain unknown. This study sought to clarify the survival benefit for patients undergoing repeat hepatectomy for gastric cancer liver metastasis.
Methods: A total of 73 patients underwent hepatectomy for gastric cancer liver metastasis from January 1993 to January 2011. Macroscopically curative surgery was performed in 64 patients. Among them, repeat hepatectomy was performed in 14 of the 37 patients with intrahepatic recurrence. Among these 14 patients, clinicopathologic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis to identify the factors affecting survival.
Results: The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates after a second hepatectomy were 71, 47, and 47 %, respectively. The median survival was 31 months. Operative morbidity and mortality rates of repeat hepatectomy were 29 and 0 %, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified the duration of the disease-free interval as the only independent significant factor predicting better survival.
Conclusions: In selected patients, repeat hepatectomy for recurrent gastric cancer liver metastasis may offer the same chance of cure as the primary hepatectomy. Disease-free intervals exceeding 12 months predict good patient survival after repeat hepatectomy.