By Shazia Qureshi
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- September 15, 2008 -- More lymph nodes can be retrieved with laparoscopy-assisted colectomy than with conventional open colectomy in patients with colon cancer, according to findings of a database analysis.
In addition, patient survival is significantly better when 12 or more nodes are retrieved than when fewer than 12 were retrieved, the authors of the analysis reported here on September 12 in a poster session at the 14th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO).
"Adequate lymph node evaluation is important to stage colon cancers and make adjuvant treatment decisions," said Andrea Tamburini, MD, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, and colleagues.
The researchers identified 1,757 patients with colon cancer who had undergone a colectomy. Laparoscopy-assisted colectomies had been carried out in 615 patients (35%) and open colectomies were performed in 1,142 patients (65%). The analysis used the t-test to compare the number of nodes examined during laparoscopic colectomy and during open colectomy.
According to the study findings, the mean number of lymph nodes retrieved was 18.79 +- 9.5 with laparoscopic colectomy and 17.3 +- 9.2 with open colectomy (P = .016).
In addition, more nodes were examined during right colectomies than left colectomies (mean of 19 vs mean of 16, respectively; P < .0001).
Survival was better when 12 or more nodes were examined than when fewer than 12 nodes were examined (P < .018) for both right and left colon cancers.
Laparoscopy-assisted colectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
[Presentation title: Lymphadenectomy in Colon Cancer -- Adequacy of the Laparoscopic Approach. Abstract 381]
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