A right hepatectomy with multiple colorectal metastases!
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer related mortality after lung cancer in Europe and some parts in America, and a partial colectomy to remove the section that has cancer with the nearby lymph nodes is the gold standard treatment option. This type of cancer most often spreads to the liver, and it does it rapidly. The liver above shows multiple nodules on its surface in a patient that was diagnosed with colorectal cancer shortly before. For a long time, those patients were considered to be incurable. Nowadays, surgical liver resection offers the best opportunity for survival in patients with colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver.If the metastases cannot be removed because they are too large or there are too many of them, chemo may be given before any surgery (neoadjuvant chemo). Then, if the tumors shrink, surgery to remove them may be tried. Chemotherapy alone has a palliative role and rarely results in prolonged survival. Liver resection, which provides the only curative treatment, have improved the long-term outcome of these patients. Photo by @juniortussi
