Imaging Considerations before and after Liver-Directed Locoregional Treatments for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

• Published in: Diagnostics (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 7; p. 772
• Main Authors: Chlorogiannis, David-Dimitris, Moussa, Amgad M, Zhao, Ken, Alexander, Erica S, Sofocleous, Constantinos T, Sotirchos, Vlasios S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Ablation; Ablation (Surgery); Accuracy; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Chemotherapy; Colorectal cancer; Contrast agents; Gadoxetate; Health aspects; imaging; interventional oncology; Liver; Liver diseases; liver metastases; Magnetic resonance imaging; margin; Metabolism; Metastasis; Mortality; Planning; Radiation; Radiotherapy; Surgery; thermal ablation; Tumors; United States > US; interventional oncology; margin; colorectal cancer; thermal ablation; Yttrium-90 radioembolization; stereotactic body radiation therapy; locoregional therapy; imaging; liver metastases
• ISSN: 2075-4418; 2075-4418
• DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14070772

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Liver metastases will develop in over one-third of patients with colorectal cancer and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Even though surgical resection has been considered the mainstay of treatment, only approximately 20% of the patients are surgical candidates. Liver-directed locoregional therapies such as thermal ablation, Yttrium-90 transarterial radioembolization, and stereotactic body radiation therapy are pivotal in managing colorectal liver metastatic disease. Comprehensive pre- and post-intervention imaging, encompassing both anatomic and metabolic assessments, is invaluable for precise treatment planning, staging, treatment response assessment, and the prompt identification of local or distant tumor progression. This review outlines the value of imaging for colorectal liver metastatic disease and offers insights into imaging follow-up after locoregional liver-directed therapy.