BackgroundSome studies have suggested that preoperative chemotherapy for hepatic colorectal
metastases may cause hepatic injury and increase perioperative morbidity and
mortality.AimTo evaluate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in patients undergoing
preoperative chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.MethodsObservational retrospective cohort study in which 166 patients underwent 185
hepatectomies for metastatic colorectal cancer with or without associated
preoperative chemotherapy from 2004 to 2011. The data were obtained from a review
of the medical records and an analysis of the anatomopathological report on the
non-tumor portion of the surgical specimen. The study sample was divided into two
groups: those who were exposed and those who were unexposed to chemotherapy.ResultsFrom the hepatectomies, 136 cases (73.5%) underwent preoperative chemotherapy,
with most (62.5%) using a regimen of 5-fluorouracil + leucovorin. A 40% greater
risk of cell damage was detected in 62% of the exposed group. The predominant
histological pattern of the cell damage was steatosis, which was detected in 51%
of the exposed cases. Exposure to chemotherapy increased the risk of steatosis by
2.2 fold. However, when the risk factors were controlled, only the presence of
risk of hepatopathy was associated with steatosis, with a relative risk of 4
(2.7-5.9).ConclusionPatients exposed to chemotherapy have 2.2 times the risk of developing hepatic
steatosis, and its occurrence is associated with the presence of predisposing
factors such as diabetes mellitus and hepatopathy.