Perioperative use of anti-EGFR antibodies in resectable and potentially resectable liver metastases

The radical resection of all visible disease manifestations can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, however, complete metastasectomy is initially possible only in a small proportion of patients, with many of them subsequently developing relapse. Aiming to increase the number of patients subject to radical intervention and to reduce the recurrence risk, preoperative chemotherapy (with or without subsequent adjuvant treatment) is widely used in routine practice. In the hope of increasing immediate effectiveness (increasing the proportion of patients subject to R0 resection) and the long-term results of treatment, preoperative chemotherapy is often accompanied with biological agents (anti-EGFR and anti-VEGF monoclonal antibodies) continued after surgery in some cases. However, despite the evidence of increased resectability, the impact of this approach on long-term treatment outcomes has not yet been determined. The analysis of recent studies in this area doubts the safety of perioperative use of anti-EGFR antibodies in patients with potentially curable metastatic colorectal cancer.