A prospective study of outcomes of emergency and elective surgeries for complicated colonic cancer

Although a significantly decreased long-term survival has been observed in patients undergoing surgery for complicated colorectal tumors compared with uncomplicated ones, the role of radical oncologic surgery on emergency colonic cancer is not defined clearly. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of a curative emergency surgery in terms of tumor recurrence and cancer-related survival compared with elective colonic surgery.

Between January 1996 and December 1998, all patients with colonic cancer deemed to have undergone a curative resection were considered for inclusion in this prospective study. Patients were classified into 2 groups: group 1, after emergency surgery for complicated colonic cancer, and group 2, patients undergoing elective surgery. The main end points were cancer-related survival and the probability of being free from recurrence at 3 years.

Of the 266 patients included in the study, 59 patients (22.2%) were in group 1 and 207 patients (77.8%) were in group 2. Postoperative mortality was higher in group 1 (P=.0004). After patients were stratified by the tumor node metastasis system, differences between the groups with respect to overall survival of stage II tumors (P=.0728), the probability of being free from recurrence (P=.0827), and cancer-related survival (P=.1071) of stage III cancers did not reach statistical significance. Differences were observed for the overall survival in stage III tumors (P=.0007), and for the probability of being free from recurrence (P=.0011) and cancer-related survival (P=.0029) in stage II cancers. When patients with elective stage II tumors presenting 1 or more negative prognostic factor were compared with emergency patients affected by a stage II colonic cancer, no differences were observed.

Curative surgeries for complicated colonic cancer are acceptable in emergency conditions. Cancer-related survival and recurrence in patients with complicated colonic cancers may approach that of elective surgery if a surgical treatment with radical oncologic criteria is performed.