Observational studyBMC cancer2021
Baseline liver steatosis has no impact on liver metastases and overall survival in rectal cancer patients.
Observational study in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- From steatosis to metastasis: microenvironmental reprogramming of the liver in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Review
- Liver fat and clinical outcomes in individuals with stage I-III colon or rectal cancer.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Thrombomodulin Mitigates the Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Steatotic Liver.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2026Article
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and immune checkpoint inhibitor response in gastrointestinal liver metastases: current evidence and future directions.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Hepatic steatosis predicts metachronous liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients: a nested case-control study and systematic review.American journal of cancer research · 2024Article
- Combined impact of myosteatosis and liver steatosis on prognosis in stage I-III colorectal cancer patients.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2023Article
- Article
- The Troubling Link Between Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Extrahepatic Cancers (EHC).Cureus · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe liver is one of the most frequent sites of metastases in rectal cancer. This study aimed to evaluate how the development of synchronous or metachronous liver metastasis and overall survival are impacted by baseline liver steatosis and chemotherapy-induced liver damage in rectal cancer patients.
methodsPatients diagnosed with stage II to IV rectal cancer between 2010 and 2016 in our province with suitable baseline CT scan were included. Data on cancer diagnosis, staging, therapy, outcomes and liver function were collected. CT scans were retrospectively reviewed to assess baseline steatosis (liver density < 48 HU and/or liver-to-spleen ratio < 1.1). Among patients without baseline steatosis and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, chemotherapy-induced liver damage was defined as steatosis appearance, ≥ 10% liver volume increase, or significant increase in liver function tests.
resultsWe included 283 stage II to IV rectal cancer patients with suitable CT scan (41% females; mean age 68 ± 14 years). Steatosis was present at baseline in 90 (31.8%) patients, synchronous liver metastasis in 42 (15%) patients and metachronous liver metastasis in 26 (11%); 152 (54%) deaths were registered. The prevalence of synchronous liver metastasis was higher in patients with steatosis (19% vs 13%), while the incidence of metachronous liver metastasis was similar. After correcting for age, sex, stage, and year of diagnosis, steatosis was not associated with metachronous liver metastasis nor with overall survival. In a small analysis of 63 patients without baseline steatosis and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, chemotherapy-induced liver damage was associated with higher incidence of metachronous liver metastasis and worse survival, results which need to be confirmed by larger studies.
conclusionsOur data suggest that rectal cancer patients with steatosis had a similar occurrence of metastases during follow-up, even if the burden of liver metastases at diagnosis was slightly higher, compatible with chance.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.