Oncologic outcome of laparoscopic surgery for T1 and T2 colorectal carcinoma

Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal carcinoma remains controversial because of the technical difficulties and uncertainty regarding the long-term oncologic outcome after laparoscopic surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility for the laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of pT1 and pT2 colorectal carcinoma.

A review was performed of a prospective registry of 226 patients who underwent curative laparoscopic resection for pT1 and pT2 colorectal carcinoma between December, 1992 and December, 2001. Patient demographics and outcomes were recorded prospectively.

The median follow-up was 43 months. Three patients (2.0%) in the pT1 group and 3 patients (3.9%) in the pT2 group developed recurrence of carcinoma. The expected five-year survival and disease-free survival rates in the pT1 group were 98.9% and 97.6%, respectively, whereas they were 93.6% and 93.4% in the pT2 group. No patient had port-site or peritoneal recurrence during the follow-up period.

The findings of current study demonstrate that oncologic outcome of laparoscopic surgery for patients with pT1 and pT2 colorectal carcinoma appear to be comparable with conventional surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is oncologically appropriate at least for patients with pT1 and pT2 colorectal carcinoma.