Occult hepatic metastases in colorectal carcinoma

Occult hepatic metastases (OHMs) were detected by ultrasound and/or CT scanning in 17 of 71 (24 per cent) patients undergoing apparently curative resection for colorectal carcinoma. One of the patients with OHMs survived 5 years; in contrast, only 5 of 54 patients without evidence of OHMs at surgery died of disseminated disease. The presence or absence of OHMs at the time of surgery predicts the majority of deaths from disseminated disease following apparently curative resection for colorectal carcinoma.