Simultaneous vs. Staged Resection of Colorectal Cancer With Synchronous Liver Metastases (SYLMET)

July 28, 2025 updated by: Sheraz Yaqub, Oslo University Hospital

Simultaneous vs. Staged Resection of Colorectal Cancer With Synchronous Liver Metastases - A Multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial

The SYLMET Trial is a randomized trial to compare simultaneous and two-staged resection of primary colorectal and synchronous liver metastases. This is an investigator-initiated, multicentre, randomized controlled trial to assess complications (primary endpoint), survival, cost-effectiveness, and quality of life (secondary endpoints).This trial will include patients with resectable primary tumour in the colon or upper rectum with less than five liver metastases that is possible to treat with surgical resection and/or ablation (RFA/MWA) at time of evaluation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the second most common cause of cancer and cancer death in Norway, and the incidence is increasing (Cancer in Norway, 2021, Cancer Registry of Norway). The liver is the most common site of metastasis from CRC. More than 4500 individuals are diagnosed with CRC in Norway each year, and approximately 20% of patients present with liver metastases at time of diagnosis (synchronous metastases). Resection of both the primary tumor and liver metastases is considered the only curative treatment, and has been shown to improve long-term survival, and is considered standard of care. However, the optimal timing of surgical resection of synchronous liver metastases in relation to the primary tumor is not well defined. Traditionally, staged resection has been preferred (i.e., resection of the primary tumour and liver metastases on separate admissions with a period of recovery between the two operations), whereas simultaneous resection is appealing (i.e., resection of both primary and metastases in one operative session). Despite a lack of randomized controlled trials comparing these two surgical approaches, the number of simultaneous resections has increased at several institutions. The evolvement of both liver and colorectal surgery in the last decades has led to reduced complications, making simultaneous resections more feasible. Previous retrospective cohort studies and meta-analyses suggest that simultaneous and staged approach carry similar postoperative complication and perioperative mortality rates as well as long-term survival. A recently published prospective observational study on staged or simultaneous surgery, reported similar outcomes in selected patients. To date, there is only one published randomized controlled trial which was aborted after inclusion of half of the sample size, after an accrual time of 10 years18. Due to lack of evidence, the majority of surgical societies worldwide still treats this patient group with staged resections, resulting in two hospital admissions, two rounds of general anaesthesia and surgery, and finally two episodes of postoperative recovery and rehabilitation. If this trial demonstrates that simultaneous surgery is safe, feasible, and cost-effective, it will potentially have a practice-changing impact worldwide.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Sheraz Yaqub, MD PhD
  • Phone Number: +47-23073296
  • Email: shya@ous-hf.no

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Norway
      • Oslo, Norway
        • Recruiting
        • Oslo University Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
          • Sheraz Yaqub, MD, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-80 years old.
  • Both CRC and liver metastases in situ at time of evaluation.
  • Resectable primary tumor in the colon or upper rectum.
  • Less than 5 liver metastases, evaluated by the multidisciplinary tumor board meeting as possible to treat with surgical resection and/or ablation (RFA/MWA).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unresectable primary tumor.
  • Locally advanced primary tumor (T4).
  • Primary tumor in the lower rectum with indication for abdominoperineal resection.
  • Acute or imminent bowel obstruction.
  • Perforation or major bleeding from the primary tumor.
  • Pre-treatment of the primary tumor with a colon stent.
  • Liver resection requiring resection of more than 2 adjacent segments (Couinaud).
  • Liver metastases planned treated with irreversible electroporation (IRE).
  • Non-resectable lung metastases.
  • Metastases outside of liver (besides resectable lung metastases).
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance status ≥ 3.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Staged resection
Resection of the primary colorectal carcinoma and liver metastases in two separate surgeries.
Procedure: Staged resection
Patients randomized to staged resection will be operated according to the decision made by the tumor board meeting (liver or colorectal cancer first, based on tumor burden and symptoms), but both resections have to be done within a time period of 4-12 weeks.
Other Names:
  • Two-staged resection
  • Sequential resection
Experimental: Simultaneous resection
Resection of both the primary colorectal carcinoma and the liver metastases in one surgical procedure.
Procedure: Simultaneous resection
In cases with simultaneous surgery, the liver resection is performed prior to colon resection in order to keep a low central venous pressure during the first part of the surgical procedure and to avoid congestion of the anastomosis line owing to possible Pringle manoeuvre.
Other Names:
  • Combined resection
  • Synchronous resection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comprehensive Complication Index, CCI
Time Frame: 90 days
The CCI is calculated as the sum of all complications that are weighted for their severity (multiplication of the median reference values from patients and physicians). The final formula yields a continuous scale to rank the severity of any combination of complications from 0 to 100 in a single patient.
90 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Health Economics
Time Frame: 1 year
Cost-effectiveness calculated by incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER)
1 year
Overall survival
Time Frame: 3 and 5 years
Survival
3 and 5 years
Clavien Dindo Complications
Time Frame: 90 days
Scale from 1 to 5. Higher score meaning more severe complication.
90 days
Quality of Life: EQ-5D
Time Frame: Pre-operative, 30-days, 90-days, 6 months, 12 months
EQ-5D is an instrument which evaluates the generic quality of life developed in Europe and widely used. The EQ-5D descriptive system is a preference-based HRQL measure with one question for each of the five dimensions that include mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The scale range from -0.224 to 1; with 0, 1, and negative values corresponding to death, full health, and health states worse than death, respectively.
Pre-operative, 30-days, 90-days, 6 months, 12 months
Quality of Life: EORTC QLQ-30
Time Frame: Pre-operative, 30-days, 90-days, 6 months, 12 months
The EORTC Core Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is designed to measure cancer patients' physical, psychological and social functions. The questionnaire is composed of multi-item scales and single items. Score from 1-100.
Pre-operative, 30-days, 90-days, 6 months, 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Oslo University Hospital

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Oslo
Helse Stavanger HF
Haukeland University Hospital
St. Olavs Hospital
University Hospital, Akershus

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Sheraz Yaqub, MD, PhD, Oslo University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2031

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 13, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 28, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 11, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 31, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 28, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 201644

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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