Early recurrence of well-differentiated (G1) neuroendocrine liver metastasis after curative-intent surgery: Risk factors and outcome

BACKGROUND The objective of the current study was to identify the risk of early vs late recurrence of well-differentiated (G1) neuroendocrine liver metastasis (NELM) after curative-intent resection. METHODS Patients who underwent curative-intent resection for well-differentiated NELM were identified from a multi-institutional database. Clinicopathological details, as well as the long-term overall (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) were obtained and compared. The optimal cutoff value to differentiate early and late recurrence was determined to be 1 year based on trend curve analysis. RESULTS Among the 548 patients undergoing curative resection for NELM, 162 patients had a well-differentiated NELM. After a median follow-up of 69 months, 59 (36.4%) patients had tumor recurrence; 23 (39.0%) patients recurred within 1 year (early recurrence) after surgery, while 36 (61.0%) recurred after 1 year (late recurrence). Early recurrence was associated with worse outcome vs late recurrence (5-year OS, 72.4% vs 92.0%; P = 0.020) and no recurrence (5-year OS, 72.4% vs 100.0%; P