Prognostic Factors in Colorectal Liver Metastases: An Exhaustive Review of the Literature and Future Prospectives

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 17; no. 15; p. 2539
• Main Authors: Conticchio, Maria, Uldry, Emilie, Hübner, Martin, Digklia, Antonia, Fraga, Montserrat, Sempoux, Christine, Raisaro, Jean Louis, Fuks, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 31.07.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Ablation; Age; Algorithms; Antimitotic agents; Antineoplastic agents; Artificial intelligence; Biomarkers; Cancer; Cancer patients; Cancer therapies; CEA (Oncology); Chemotherapy; Clinical decision making; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Decision making; ErbB-2 protein; Evidence-based medicine; Geriatrics; Health aspects; Hepatectomy; Immunotherapy; Inflammation; Intestinal microflora; Literature reviews; Liver; Liver cancer; Malignancy; Management decisions; Medical prognosis; Metastases; Metastasis; Microbiomes; Mortality; Mutation; Oncology; Patients; Prognosis; Quality of life; Radiomics; Response rates; Review; Surgery; Surgical outcomes; Survival; Tumors; Switzerland; colorectal liver metastases; precision medicine; prognostic factors; artificial intelligence; molecular profiling
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers17152539

Background: Colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) represents a major clinical challenge in oncology, affecting 25–50% of colorectal cancer patients and significantly impacting survival. While multimodal therapies—including surgical resection, systemic chemotherapy, and local ablative techniques—have improved outcomes, prognosis remains heterogeneous due to variations in tumor biology, patient factors, and institutional practices. Methods: This review synthesizes current evidence on prognostic factors influencing CRLM management, encompassing clinical (e.g., tumor burden, anatomic distribution, timing of metastases), biological (e.g., CEA levels, inflammatory markers), and molecular (e.g., RAS/BRAF mutations, MSI status, HER2 alterations) determinants. Results: Key findings highlight the critical role of molecular profiling in guiding therapeutic decisions, with RAS/BRAF mutations predicting resistance to anti-EGFR therapies and MSI-H status indicating potential responsiveness to immunotherapy. Emerging tools like circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and radiomics offer promise for dynamic risk stratification and early recurrence detection, while the gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as a modulator of treatment response. Conclusions: Despite advancements, challenges persist in standardizing resectability criteria and integrating multidisciplinary approaches. Current guidelines (NCCN, ESMO, ASCO) emphasize personalized strategies but lack granularity in terms of incorporating novel biomarkers. This exhaustive review underscores the imperative for the development of a unified, biomarker-integrated framework to refine CRLM management and improve long-term outcomes.