Hepatic Resection for Metastatic Neuroendocrine Cancer in Patients with Bone Metastases

Background: Hepatic resection (HR) of metastatic neuroendocrine cancer has been associated with prolonged survival and durable symptom control for selected patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET). The present study investigates the outcomes of this operative approach in selected patients with known bone metastases. Methods: All patients undergoing HR at Mayo Clinic Rochester and Mayo Clinic Florida for metastatic NET between January 1989 and August 2015 were identified, and were divided into two groups: those undergoing HR with a known diagnosis of bone metastases (HRmNET/LB) and those who had metastatic disease confined to the liver (HRmNET/L). Results: A total of 25 patients in the HRmNET/LB group were propensity matched with 100 patients in the HRmNET/L group. Major liver resection was performed in 60 % of patients in the HRmNET/LB group and 55 % of patients in the HRmNET/L group (p = 0.42). Median survival for the HRmNET/LB group was 54.0 months, compared with 97.7 months for the HRmNET/L group (p = 0.03). In the HRmNET/LB group, median survival was 73.3 months for patients with gastrointestinal NET(GNET), compared with 42.7 months for patients with pancreatic NET (PNET). The median number of bone metastases was 2 (range 1–10), and the sites of bone metastases were the spine (68 %), pelvis (24 %), and ribs (12 %). Bone metastases were treated with radiotherapy in ten (40 %) patients, by radiofrequency ablation in two (8 %) patients, and by resection in one (4 %) patient. Conclusions: The present study is the first report to describe HR for patients with metastatic NET and known bone metastases. We demonstrated that in properly selected cases, excellent survival can be achieved with liver debulking in these patients.