Patients who undergo minimally invasive surgery for stage III colon cancer recover faster and begin their intended adjuvant therapy earlier when compared to patients who undergo open surgery, suggests a new study. The findings were presented at the virtual Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons meeting.

The study analysed 34,736 patients with third stage colon adenocarcinoma, who had undergone surgical resection and initiated adjuvant chemotherapy. Of these, 16,977 patients underwent open resection of the tumor, while 17,759 underwent minimally invasive surgery. The study compared the time for the return to intended oncological treatment (RIOT) between the two groups.

Results showed that patients in the MIS group started the adjuvant treatment earlier than those in the open surgery group; 6 vs 7 weeks, respectively. The duration of hospitalization was longer in the open surgery group (6 vs 5 days, respectively) as was the rate of re-hospitalization at 30 days (4.7% vs 4.2% days, respectively). In the minimally invasive group, the short-term outcomes and RIOT were comparable between patients who underwent a laparoscopic resection and those who underwent robotic surgery. However, patients who required conversion to open surgery during the minimally invasive procedure showed similar results as those in the open surgery group.

The line of management for locally advanced colonic cancers often involves surgery and adjuvant therapy. Patients are often anxious about any post-surgical delay in starting adjuvant treatment due to prolonged recovery. Recovery is faster after minimally invasive surgery, as demonstrated in this study. These findings may allay their concerns about timing of the adjuvant therapy.

(Source: Medpage Today, September 7, 2021)