Surgery With or Without Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Liver Metastases From Colorectal Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug and combining chemotherapy with surgery may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known if surgery is more effective with or without chemotherapy for liver metastases.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of surgery with or without combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have liver metastases from colorectal cancer.