RELY-Resection of colorectal liver metastases with or without routine hilar lymphadenectomy - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Group A: Resection of colorectal liver metastases without routine hilar lymphadenectomy. However, patients with macroscopically enlarged lymph nodes undergo lymphadenectomy in accordance with current guidelines at the Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden. These patients will be analyzed in the intention-to-treat population. Group B: Routine hilar lymphadenectomy First, exploration of the abdomen and intraoperative ultrasound are performed to assess the extent of intrahepatic and potential extrahepatic disease and to confirm resectability. Hilar lymphadenectomy is performed before actual resection of the colorectal liver metastases. Following cholecystectomy in a fundus-first fashion, hilar lymphadenectomy is carried out including defined groups of lymph nodes (nomenclature of the lymph nodes according to the Japanese classification of gastric cancer). The groups of lymph nodes at the following sites will be resected : Common hepatic artery, Coeliac trunk, duodenal ligament, hepatic artery, Hepatoduodenal ligament, portal vein/bile duct. The duration of each procedure is approximately 200 minutes