Long-term results of curative resection of “minimally invasive” colorectal cancer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the long-term outcome after curative resection of colorectal cancers that extend only into the submucosa (“minimally invasive”) and to evaluate potential histologic predictors of lymph node metastases. Seventy-nine patients who underwent curative resection of minimally invasive colorectal cancer and were followed for at least five years were studied retrospectively. The series was comprised of 53 men and 26 women, with a mean age of 61 years. The lesion was in the colon in 47 patients and the rectosigmoid or rectum in 32 patients. Open surgery followed attempted endoscopic tumor removal in 25 patients. Lymph node metastasis, found in 11/79 patients (13.9 percent), was associated with worse outcome: 36.4 percent of node(+) patients developed recurrence, vs.only 5.9 percent of node(−) patients (PCONCLUSIONS: Metastasis is not infrequent in “minimally invasive” colorectal cancer. Appropriate bowel resection with lymph node dissection is indicated if such a lesion exhibits more than three histologie risk factors for metastasis.