Cell kinetics was determined, as3H-thymidine labeling index (LI), in hepatic lesions from 36 patients withprimary colorectal carcinoma; LI values ranged from 0.9% to 23.5% and were normally distributed. Cellkinetics was not related to sex or age of the patient, or to liver function. For clinical studies the median LIvalue of 10% was used to separate slowly and rapidly proliferating lesions. Univariate analysis showed thatpatients radically resected and with a low LI tumor have a longer disease-free interval and a better probabilityof 12-month survival than those non-radically resected and with a high LI tumor. When treatment and cellkinetics were taken into consideration, the probability of 12-month survival was 100% for patients withslowly proliferating and radically resected hepatic metastases. Patients with rapidly proliferating tumors,regardless of type of treatment, had the worst prognosis.
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