Liver Surgery and Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Colorectal Cancer With Liver Metastases That Can Be Removed by Surgery and Lung Metastases That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To determine a survival benefit of liver resection in patients with resectable liver and unresectable low-volume pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To identify biomarkers in blood and resected liver specimens that correlate with survival, and development of extrahepatic and extrapulmonary metastases. II. To assess patients' quality-of-life in each treatment arm with serial questionnaires. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups. GROUP I: Patients undergo hepatectomy and receive chemotherapy at the discretion of treating oncologist. Patients whose lung tumors become able to be removed by surgery with chemotherapy may undergo lung metastasectomy. GROUP II: Patients receive chemotherapy at the discretion of the treating oncologist. Patients whose lung tumors become able to be removed by surgery with chemotherapy may undergo lung metastasectomy. Patients are followed up every 3-6 months up to 3 years.