Effect of age on the development of chemotherapy-associated liver injury in colorectal cancer liver metastasis

Abstract

Introduction: With the lengthening of the average life span, the number of elderly individuals undergoing liver resection for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) after chemotherapy has increased. However, the effect of age on the development of chemotherapy-associated liver injury (CALI) in CRLM is unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of age on the development of CALI in CRLM. Method: Sixty-four patients undergoing liver resection for CRLM after oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (OBC) were studied. We divided the patients into three groups (A group: < 65 years, B group: 65–74 years, C group: >75 years) according to age at surgery and compared the development rate of CALI between the groups. The patient underwent pathological assessments to clarify the degree of histopathological liver injury of the nontumoral liver parenchyma. Results: The A group included 37 cases, B group 17 cases and C group 10 cases. There were no significant differences among the groups regarding the number of OBC cycles and duration of OBC cessation. Sinusoidal injury was observed in 27.0%, 29.4% and 30.0% of the A, B, and C groups, respectively, which was not significantly different (P = 0.479). Steatohepatitis was observed in 35.1%, 35.3% and 40.0% of the A, B, and C groups, respectively, which was not significantly different (P = 0.958). There was no significant correlation between age and sinusoidal pathological score (r = −0.102, P = 0.423) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (r < ≤ 0.001, P = 0.997). Conclusions: The development of CALI after OBC in CRLM does not differ according to age.