Laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer in Japan

The first laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer in Japan was reported in 1992. In the early phase, many cases were indicated for early cancer. The number of operations has been increasing year by year, and now even some advanced cases undergo laparoscopic surgery. According to questionnaires administered in 2003 by the Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery, more than half of 3,892 cases were indicated for advanced cancer. In 2004, the 60th biannual meeting of the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum took up "the current status of laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer" as one of the main topics of the meeting, and conducted a questionnaire survey of the member's opinions to laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer prior to the meeting. It was revealed that at least ninety institutes had already performed a laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer. In order to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer, a randomized control study comparing laparoscopic and open resection of colorectal cancer was started in 2004. This study is scheduled to collect 818 cases. The characteristic of this study was to enroll only advanced cancer cases. The primary endpoint is the survival, while the secondary end points are disease-free survival, early postoperative course, adverse events and conversion to open surgery. As more surgeons perform laparoscopic colorectal surgery, the importance for education and credentialing has been discussed. The Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery started a system to qualify the surgeon's technique for endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery in 2004. One hundred and three surgeons took the examination for laparoscopic colorectal surgery in 2004, and 43 passed.