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Updated: May 3, 2026
Intraoperative Assessment of Resection Margins in Oral Cavity Cancer: This is the Way
Published on: May 10, 2021
Association between a close distal resection margin and recurrence after a sphincter-saving resection for t3 mid- or
Jae Woong Han1, Min Jae Lee1, Ha Kyung Park1
1Department of Surgery, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Purpose:
To maintain the patient's quality of life, surgeons strive to preserve the sphincter during rectal cancer surgery. This study evaluated the oncologic safety of a sphincter-saving resection with a distal resection margin (DRM) <1 cm without radiotherapy in T3, mid- or low-rectal cancer.
Methods:
This retrospective study enrolled 327 patients who underwent a sphincter-saving resection for proven T3 rectal cancer located <10 cm from the anal verge and without radiotherapy between January 1995 and December 2011. The oncologic outcomes included the 5-year cancer-specific survival, the local recurrence, and the systemic recurrence rates.
Results:
In groups A (DRM ≤1 cm) and B (DRM >1 cm), the 5-year cancer-specific survival rates were 81.57% and 80.03% (P = 0.8543), the 5-year local recurrence rates were 6.69% and 9.52% (P = 0.3981), and the 5-year systemic recurrence rates were 19.46% and 23.11% (P = 0.5750), respectively.
Conclusion:
This study showed that the close DRM itself should not be a contraindication for a sphincter-saving resection for T3 mid- or low-rectal cancer without radiotherapy. However, a prospective randomized controlled trial including the effect of adjuvant therapy will be needed.
