[Surgical therapy of right colon cancer]

The debate about the management of frequent advanced right colon cancer is still opened: the opportunity of extended resections when the surrounding organs or tissues are infiltrated, the lymphadenectomy extension and its role, the possibility of identifying prognostic factors that could be useful to decide adjuvant therapy, the definition of the role of laparoscopy. Considering these problems, we have reviewed a series of 159 operations performed by the Institute of Clinical Surgery of the University of Trieste from 1980. 112 of these operations had a curative goal. The reconstruction of intestinal continuity was carried out manually in 28 cases and with mechanical stapler in 78. As far as the curative resection are concerned, in 89 of them an extended lymphadenectomy was performed (D3), while in 18 cases the lymphadenectomy was limited to the lymph nodes of first and second level due to the general bed conditions of the patient. 27 of the curative exeresis were performed in patients with T4 tumor infiltrating the nearby tissues. Referring to Dukes' classification, 8 were included in stage A, 59 in stage B and 40 in stage C, while as far as the depth of wall infiltration is concerned 2 were categorized as T1, 9 as T2, 69 as T3 and 27 as T4. The overall operative mortality was of 5 patients, the overall morbidity of 14%, that specific of 4.6%. The final incidence of local recurrences was 13.8% for Dukes A cancers, 10.9% for Dukes B and 120.5% for Dukes C (p = 0.0614). Half of the recurrences (50%) occurred in patients with a cancer infiltrating the nearby tissues. The 5 year survival rate for patients with Dukes A lesions was 100%, for patients with Dukes B lesions 73.4% and for Dukes C 52.3% (p = 0.00510). With Cox' multivariate analysis only the stage disease, T and grading showed a significative correlation with the survival rate. Our experience, therefore, suggests the execution of an exeresis with lymphadenectomy D3 in each cases where the local site of the lesion and the general conditions of the patients allow it and an extended exeresis where possible from a technical point of view and when the lymph nodes are involved.