Background: The relationship between RAS mutation status and outcome for patients undergoing repeat hepatectomy (RH) for recurrent colorectal liver metastases (CLM) has not been defined.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between RAS mutation status and outcome in patients undergoing RH for CLM.
Methods: All patients who underwent RH for CLM with known RAS mutation status between January 2005 and November 2014 were identified, and the outcomes of patients with and without RAS mutations were compared.
Results: Ninety-eight patients underwent RH, of whom 34 (35 %) harbored a RAS mutation. Wild-type (WT) and mutant RAS groups had similar clinicopathologic characteristics. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) for patients with WT and mutant RAS was 12.2 and 6.1 months, respectively (p = 0.03). Median overall survival (OS) for the WT and mutant RAS patients were 42.5 and 26.6 months, respectively (p < 0.01). On multivariate analysis, RAS mutations [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.69, p = 0.04] were associated with worse RFS, while multiple tumors (HR = 1.92, p = 0.045) and RAS mutations (HR = 2.11, p = 0.02) predicted worse OS.
Conclusion: Patients with recurrent CLM that harbor RAS mutations have worse RFS and OS than patients with WT RAS, and RAS mutations are independently associated with worse RFS and OS. RAS mutation status should be determined prior to RH, as it may impact treatment decisions.
Keywords: Colorectal liver metastases; RAS mutation; Repeat hepatectomy; Survival.