Intraoperative Tumor Perforation is Associated with Decreased 5-Year Survival in Colon Cancer: A Nationwide Database...

It is a widely held belief that intraoperative tumor perforation in colon cancer impairs survival and causes local recurrence, although the prognostic importance remains unclear.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of unintended intraoperative tumor perforation on postoperative mortality and long-term survival.

This national cohort study was based on data from a prospectively maintained nationwide colorectal cancer database. We included 16,517 colon cancer patients who were resected with curative intent from 2001 to 2012.

Intraoperative tumor perforation produced a significantly impaired 5-year survival of 40% compared to 64% in non-perforated colon cancer. Intraoperative tumor perforation was an independent risk factor for death, hazard ratio 1.63 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-1.94), with a significantly increased 90-day postoperative mortality of 17% compared to 7% in non-perforated tumors, p < 0.001. We showed that tumor fixation, emergency operations, and laparotomies were associated with an increased risk of intraoperative tumor perforation.

This nationwide study demonstrates that intraoperative tumor perforation in colon cancer is associated with statistically significant reduced long-term survival and increased postoperative mortality.