Multivisceral resection for colon carcinoma

The aim of curative surgery for colon carcinoma is the complete resection of the neoplasm. In locally advanced colon carcinomas with adhesion to neighboring organs, standard surgical procedures often turn into multivisceral resections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of multivisceral resection in primary colon carcinomas and factors influencing its success.

Prospectively collected data for 174 patients from the Erlangen Registry for Colorectal Carcinomas who underwent multivisceral resection for colon carcinoma from 1978 through 2002 were analyzed. Multivisceral resection was defined as the excision or resection of at least one further organ in addition to the carcinoma-affected colon. Postoperative complications, locoregional tumor recurrence, distant metastases, and cancer-related survival were evaluated after a five-year follow-up.

Multivisceral resection most commonly involved parts of the small intestine (31.6%), urinary bladder (27.0%), and the abdominal wall (15.5%). R0 resection (no residual tumor) was achieved in 93.1%. Overall, postoperative complications occurred in 25.8%, and the postoperative mortality rate was 6.9%. For patients with R0 resection, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of five-year cancer-related survival was 80.7%; no patient with R1 or R2 resection survived for 5 years. The five-year rate of locoregional tumor recurrence was 6.5%, and the five-year rate of distant metastases was 24.2%. The presence of lymphatic metastases was a significant prognostic factor for locoregional tumor recurrence, distant metastases, and cancer-related survival.

The high percentage of R0 resections achieved through multivisceral resection justifies this procedure for locally advanced colon carcinomas and highlights the importance of experienced, well-trained surgeons to decrease the incidence of locoregional recurrence.