Complete mesocolic excision: Lessons from anatomy translating to better oncologic outcome

Since the introduction of complete mesocolic excision (CME) for colon cancer, the oncologic outcome of patients has been greatly improved, which has led to a longer survival and a lower recurrence, just like the total mesorectum excision for rectal cancer. Despite the fact that the exact anatomy of the organ is one of the most vital things for surgeons to conduct surgery, no team has really studied the exact structure of the mesocolon and related attachments for CME, until the mesocolonic anatomy was first formally characterized in 2012. Therefore, this article mainly focuses on the anatomy development of the mesocolon and the achievement in this field. Meanwhile, we introduce the latest progress in laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer achieved by our team.