The survival of most patients with both unresectable hepatic and pulmonary
metastases of
colorectal cancer is poor. In this retrospective study, we investigated the efficacy of computed tomography (CT)-guided
radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and systemic
chemotherapy plus hepatic artery infusion of
floxuridine (HAI-
FUDR). Sixty-one patients were selected from 1,136 patients with pulmonary and hepatic
metastases from
colorectal cancer. Patients were treated with RFA and systemic
chemotherapy plus HAI-
FUDR (ablation group, n = 39) or systemic
chemotherapy plus HAI-
FUDR (
FUDR group, n = 22). Patients in the two groups were matched by sex, age, number of
metastases, and calendar year of RFA or
FUDR. Survival data were evaluated by using univariate and multivariate analyses. Clinical characteristics were comparable between the two groups. All patients in the ablation group underwent RFA and
chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 56.8 months. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 97%, 64%, and 37%, respectively, for the ablation group, and 82%, 32%, and 19%, respectively, for the
FUDR group. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates after
metastasis were 97%, 49%, and 26% for the ablation group, and 72%, 24%, and 24% for the
FUDR group, respectively. The median OS times were 45 and 25 months for the ablation and
FUDR groups, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, treatment allocation was a favorable independent prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.001) and survival after
metastasis (P = 0.009). These data suggest that the addition of RFA to systemic
chemotherapy plus HAI-
FUDR improves the survival of patients with both unresectable hepatic and pulmonary
metastases from
colorectal cancer.