Disease-free interval and tumor functional status can be used to select patients for resection/ablation of liver metastases from adrenocortical carcinoma: insights from a multi-institutional study

BACKGROUND: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive malignancy that frequently metastasizes to the liver. Given the limitations of systemic therapy in this setting, we sought to determine characteristics associated with a two-fold increase in survival with surgical management compared to what has been reported with chemotherapy alone (∼12 months). METHODS: Patients who underwent resection/ablation at our institutions for ACC liver metastases were identified. Those who survived between 12–24 months after metastasectomy were excluded, as the aim was to characterize patients who most clearly benefited from these procedures. Clinicopathologic and treatment characteristics were assessed for associations with survival. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 44 survived greater than 24 months and 18 survived less than 12 months. Patients with extended survival were less likely to have functioning tumors (p=0.047), had fewer liver metastases (p=0.047), and a longer disease-free interval (DFI) (median 17.6 vs 2.3 months, p