Tumor location as a novel high risk parameter for stage II colorectal cancers

Effects of Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Early-onset Stage II Colon Cancer at Different Tumor Sites

OBJECTIVES

Left-sided colon cancer (LSCC) and right-sided colon cancer (RSCC) have shown distinct clinical and prognostic features. We investigated the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) on cause-specific survival (CSS) in patients with stage II LSCC and RSCC.

METHODS

Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, a cohort of patients with stage II colon cancer, aged between 20 and 49 years was identified. Both Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis as well as propensity score matching were used.

RESULTS

Overall, 5633 patients were eligible. Patients with RSCC were more likely to be male, black, and younger, with a poor grade and histologic type, and were more likely to have more regional nodes examined and larger tumor size. After propensity score matching, CSS was significantly superior in patients with RSCC compared to those with LSCC (Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.80, 95% CI: 0.68-0.95, P =0.01). However, no survival benefit was observed for patients with LSCC after ACT (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.90-1.35, P =0.35), and surprisingly, ACT was found to do more harm than good in patients with RSCC (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.05-1.63, P =0.02). Even among patients with high-risk features such as T4 stage and regional nodes examined<12 in both groups, ACT still did not improve CSS except for T4 stage LSCC (HR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.44-0.97, P =0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this analysis indicate that the prognosis of RSCC is better than that of LSCC in stage II colon cancer, and ACT did not improve CSS in patients with either LSCC or RSCC. Even in patients with parts of high-risk features, ACT still did not improve CSS, except for T4 stage LSCC.

CCDC144NL-AS1/hsa-miR-143-3p/HMGA2 interaction: In-silico and clinically implicated in CRC progression, correlated to tumor stage and size in case-controlled study; step toward ncRNA precision

Unravel the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 in CRC hsa-miR-143-3p, downstream protein HMGA2 interaction arm, association with clinicopathological characteristics. Using peripheral blood as liquid biopsy from 60 CRC patients and 30 controls. The expression levels of CCDC144NL-AS1 and hsa-miR-143-3p detected by qRT-PCR. CCDC144NL-AS1 expression was significantly upregulated in CRC patients' sera, associated with worse CRC clinicopathological features regarding the depth of tumor invasion and highly significant difference between tumor stages 3 and 4 and tumor stages 2 and 4. While, hsa-miR-143-3p expression was downregulated in CRC patients by 4.5-fold change when compared to the control subjects (p < 0.0001) and HMGA2 increased in CRC patients than controls 19.59 ng/μL and 5.377 ng/μL, respectively (p < 0.0001) with significant difference between tumor stages 3 and 4 as well as tumor stages 2 and 4. CRC patients with large tumor size showed upregulation in CCDC144NL-AS1 expression and HMGA2 levels compared to those with small tumor size (p-value = 0.0365 and 0.013, respectively). CCDC144NL-AS1 and HMGA2 were positively correlated, whereas lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 and hsa-miR-143-3p were negatively correlated. Conclusion: As an interaction arm CCDC144NL-AS1/hsa-miR-143-3p/HMGA2 were correlated to CRC stages 2-4. Therefore, this interaction arm expression clinically and in silico approved, would direct treatment precision in the near future.

A bayesian approach to model the underlying predictors of early recurrence and postoperative death in patients with colorectal Cancer

Objective

This study aimed at utilizing a Bayesian approach semi-competing risks technique to model the underlying predictors of early recurrence and postoperative Death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, 284 patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent surgery, referred to Imam Khomeini clinic in Hamadan from 2001 to 2017. The primary outcomes were the probability of recurrence, the probability of Mortality without recurrence, and the probability of Mortality after recurrence. The patients ‘recurrence status was determined from patients’ records. The Bayesian survival modeling was carried out by semi-competing risks illness-death models, with accelerated failure time (AFT) approach, in R 4.1 software. The best model was chosen according to the lowest deviance information criterion (DIC) and highest logarithm of the pseudo marginal likelihood (LPML).

Results

The log-normal model (DIC = 1633, LPML = -811), was the optimal model. The results showed that gender(Time Ratio = 0.764: 95% Confidence Interval = 0.456–0.855), age at diagnosis (0.764: 0.538–0.935 ), T₃ stage (0601: 0.530–0.713), N₂ stage (0.714: 0.577–0.935 ), tumor size (0.709: 0.610–0.929), grade of differentiation at poor (0.856: 0.733–0.988), and moderate (0.648: 0.503–0.955) levels, and the number of chemotherapies (1.583: 1.367–1.863) were significantly related to recurrence. Also, age at diagnosis (0.396: 0.313–0.532), metastasis to other sites (0.566: 0.490–0.835), T₃ stage (0.363: 0.592 − 0.301), T₄ stage (0.434: 0.347–0.545), grade of differentiation at moderate level (0.527: 0.387–0.674), tumor size (0.595: 0.500–0.679), and the number of chemotherapies (1.541: 1.332–2.243) were the significantly predicted the death. Also, age at diagnosis (0.659: 0.559–0.803), and the number of chemotherapies (2.029: 1.792–2.191) were significantly related to mortality after recurrence.

Conclusion

According to specific results obtained from the optimal Bayesian log-normal model for terminal and non-terminal events, appropriate screening strategies and the earlier detection of CRC leads to substantial improvements in the survival of patients.

Oncological impact of vascular invasion in colon cancer might differ depending on tumor sidedness

Purpose

Vascular invasion is a well-known independent prognostic factor in colon cancer and tumor sidedness is also being considered a prognostic factor. The aim of this study was to compare the oncological impact of vascular invasion depending on the tumor location in stages I to III colon cancer.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed using data from patients who underwent curative resection between 2004 and 2015. Patients were divided into right-sided colon cancer (RCC) and left-sided colon cancer (LCC) groups according to the tumor location. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between the RCC and LCC groups, depending on the presence of vascular invasion.

Results

A total of 793 patients were included, of which 304 (38.3%) had RCC and 489 (61.7%) had LCC. DFS and OS did not differ significantly between the RCC and LCC groups. Vascular invasion was a poor prognostic factor for DFS in both RCC (hazard ratio [HR], 2.291; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.186–4.425; p = 0.010) and LCC (HR, 1.848; 95% CI, 1.139–2.998; p = 0.011). Additionally, it was associated with significantly worse OS in the RCC (HR, 3.503; 95% CI, 1.681–7.300; p < 0.001), but not in the LCC group (HR, 1.676; 95% CI, 0.885–3.175; p = 0.109). Multivariate analysis revealed that vascular invasion was independently poor prognostic factor for OS in the RCC (HR, 3.186; 95% CI, 1.391–7.300; p = 0.006).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that RCC with vascular invasion had worse OS than LCC with vascular invasion.

Pathological Features and Prognostication in Colorectal Cancer

The prognostication of colorectal cancer (CRC) has traditionally relied on staging as defined by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging classifications. However, clinically, there appears to be differences in survival patterns independent of stage, suggesting a complex interaction of stage, pathological features, and biomarkers playing a role in guiding prognosis, risk stratification, and guiding neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies. Histological features such as tumour budding, perineural invasion, apical lymph node involvement, lymph node yield, lymph node ratio, and molecular features such as MSI, KRAS, BRAF, and CDX2 may assist in prognostication and optimising adjuvant treatment. This study provides a comprehensive review of the pathological features and biomarkers that are important in the prognostication and treatment of CRC. We review the importance of pathological features and biomarkers that may be important in colorectal cancer based on the current evidence in the literature.

A Claudin-Based Molecular Signature Identifies High-Risk, Chemoresistant Colorectal Cancer Patients

Identifying molecular characteristics that are associated with aggressive cancer phenotypes through gene expression profiling can help predict treatment responses and clinical outcomes. Claudins are deregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). In CRC, increased claudin-1 expression results in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis, while claudin-7 functions as a tumor suppressor. In this study, we have developed a molecular signature based on claudin-1 and claudin-7 associated with poor patient survival and chemoresistance. This signature was validated using an integrated approach including publicly available datasets and CRC samples from patients who either responded or did not respond to standard-of-care treatment, CRC cell lines, and patient-derived rectal and colon tumoroids. Transcriptomic analysis from a patient dataset initially yielded 23 genes that were differentially expressed along with higher claudin-1 and decreased claudin-7. From this analysis, we selected a claudins-associated molecular signature including PIK3CA, SLC6A6, TMEM43, and ASAP-1 based on their importance in CRC. The upregulation of these genes and their protein products was validated using multiple CRC patient datasets, in vitro chemoresistant cell lines, and patient-derived tumoroid models. Additionally, blocking these genes improved 5-FU sensitivity in chemoresistant CRC cells. Our findings propose a new claudin-based molecular signature that associates with poor prognosis as well as characteristics of treatment-resistant CRC including chemoresistance, metastasis, and relapse.

Prognostic impact of tumour sidedness in patients with stage II colon cancer: a single-centre retrospective study

BACKGROUND

The search for high-risk factors in stage II colon cancer (CC) is ongoing and several high-risk factors for stage II CC have been identified; however, the effects of tumour sidedness on prognosis are not clear. This study aims to determine whether tumour sidedness could be identified as another high-risk factor for stage II CC.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed 189 patients with stage II CC and compared clinicopathological findings and long-term outcomes between the patients with right colonic cancer (RCC) and with left colonic cancer (LCC). Prognostic factors for survival were determined using univariate and Cox proportional regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 72 patients were diagnosed with RCC and 117 patients were diagnosed with LCC. Patients with RCC were significantly older (P < 0.001), and the number of harvested lymph nodes was greater in the RCC group (RCC: 25 versus LCC: 19; P = 0.003). The overall survival (OS) was worse in the RCC group than the OS in the LCC group (5-year survival rate - RCC: 81.3% versus LCC: 90.4%; P = 0.025). Cox proportional regression analysis showed that tumour sidedness was an independent prognostic factor for both OS (hazard ratio (HR) 3.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.61-8.85, P = 0.022) and DFS (HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, P = 0.005).

CONCLUSION

Patients with RCC have more negative prognostic factors and worse long-term outcomes than those with LCC in stage II CC. Tumour sidedness is a high-risk factor in stage II CC patients.

The presence of poorly differentiated clusters predicts survival in stage II colorectal cancer

In stage II colorectal carcinoma (CRC), adjuvant chemotherapy is reserved to cases at high risk of adverse outcome. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value of tumor budding (TB) and poorly differentiated clusters (PDC) in this setting. In a cohort of 149 patients with surgically resected stage II CRC not undergoing neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatments, we assessed the prognostic value of several clinical-pathological variables, including PDC and TB, on cancer-specific survival (CSS). Rectal location, lymphovascular invasion, and a number of lymph nodes < 12 confirmed to be significant and independent predictors of shorter CSS. A total of 117 CRCs were graded as PDC-G1 (0-4 PDCs), 19 as PDC-G2 (5-9 PDCs), and 13 as PDC-G3 (> 9 PDCs). Ninety-eight cases had PDC absent. TB foci were found in 91 CRCs; 121 were classified Bd1, 16 were Bd2, and 12 were Bd3. PDC-G2/G3 was significantly prognostic of shorter CSS (P < 0.0001). Among PDC-G1 cases, the presence of PDC was significantly associated with reduced CSS (P < 0.0001). Moreover, in the whole 149 CRCs, it had higher sensitivity and specificity to identify high-risk patients, compared to PDC grade, and it was independently associated with shorter CSS at multivariate analysis. High TB grade (Bd3) was significantly associated with shorter CSS (P = 0.0001), but it lost prognostic value at multivariate analysis. These findings suggest that the presence of PDC in stage II CRCs might be added to the pool of high-risk factors, warranting the use of adjuvant chemotherapy.

Effect of primary colorectal cancer tumor location on survival after pulmonary metastasectomy

OBJECTIVES

Although colorectal cancer bowel segment location has been shown to independently predict the outcomes in early stage disease, it has not been previously studied in the setting of pulmonary metastases. We sought to determine whether colorectal cancer location affects survival after pulmonary metastasectomy.

METHODS

Patients who had undergone pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal cancer at a single institution from 2011 to 2018 were reviewed. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of overall survival and disease-free survival. The Kaplan-Meier survival method was used to determine differences between groups.

RESULTS

A total of 194 patients were evaluated. The median follow-up, survival time, and 5-year survival rate were 36.8 months, 75.8 months, and 57%, respectively, and 122 patients (63%) had experienced disease recurrence at any location. On univariable analysis, age, primary tumor location, pulmonary nodule size, ≥3 pulmonary nodules, and intrathoracic nodal disease were associated with overall survival. On multivariable analysis, patients with left-sided tumors experienced a survival benefit (hazard ratio, 0.31; P = .036). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a median survival time of 90 months (95% confidence interval, 82 months to not reached) compared with 55 months (95% confidence interval, 49 months to not reached) for patients with left-sided and rectal tumors, respectively, after metastasectomy (P = .078). Location was not associated with disease-free survival on Cox multivariable regression.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that left-sided colorectal cancer is associated with prolonged survival after pulmonary metastasectomy. Future investigations are required to determine the validity of such findings, including the effect of location in the prognostication for patients who are candidates for pulmonary metastasectomy.

Primary tumor location and survival in colorectal cancer: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Primary tumor location is a prognostic factor for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Post hoc analyses of mCRC clinical trials, including FIRE-3, CALGB/SWOG 80405, suggest that primary tumor location is also predictive of survival benefit with cetuximab or bevacizumab in combination with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

AIM

Evaluate prognostic/predictive roles of primary tumor location in real-world mCRC patients treated with cetuximab or bevacizumab plus 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study selected patients with KRAS wild-type mCRC who initiated first-line therapy with cetuximab or bevacizumab in combination with 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin/irinotecan (FOLFIRI) or 5-fluorouracil/ leucovorin/oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) between January 2013 and April 2017 from the Flatiron Health electronic health record-derived database of de-identified patient-level data in the United States. Primary tumor location was abstracted from patients’ charts. Left-sided primary tumor location (LPTL) was defined as tumors that originated in the splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon, or rectum; right-sided primary tumor location (RPTL) was defined as tumors that originated from the appendix, cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure, or transverse colon. Propensity score matching was used to balance the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics between patients treated with cetuximab and patients treated with bevacizumab. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods were used for survival analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 1312 patients met the selection criteria. Of 248 cetuximab plus FOLFIRI or FOLFOX patients, 164 had LPTL and 84 had RPTL; of 1064 bevacizumab plus FOLFIRI or FOLFOX patients, 679 had LPTL and 385 had RPTL. Cetuximab LPTL and RPTL patients were more likely to receive FOLFIRI vs bevacizumab patients (LPTL: 64.0% vs 24.3%; RPTL: 76.2% vs 24.9%, P < 0.001). Stage at initial diagnosis was different between cetuximab RPTL vs bevacizumab RPTL patients (P < 0.001); cetuximab RPTL patients were more likely to have stage III disease (44.0% vs 22.6%), while bevacizumab RPTL patients were more likely to have stage IV disease (65.7% vs 48.8%). Cetuximab RPTL patients were more likely to have a documented history of adjuvant chemotherapy vs bevacizumab RPTL patients (47.6% vs 22.3%, P < 0.001). In the propensity score-matched sample, median overall survival (OS) was 29.7 mo (95%CI: 26.9-35.2) for LPTL patients vs 18.3 mo (95%CI: 15.8-21.3) for RPTL patients (P < 0.001). Median OS was 29.7 mo (95%CI: 27.4-NA) for cetuximab LPTL patients vs 29.1 mo (95%CI: 26.6-35.6) for bevacizumab LPTL patients (HR = 0.87; 95%CI: 0.63-1.19; P = 0.378) and 17.0 mo (95%CI: 12.0-32.6) for cetuximab RPTL patients vs 18.8 mo (95%CI: 15.8-22.3) for bevacizumab RPTL patients (HR = 1.00; 95%CI: 0.68-1.46; P = 0.996). The interaction of treatment and primary tumor location was not significant in the Cox regression.

CONCLUSION

In this real-world mCRC cohort, the prognostic role of primary tumor location was substantiated, but not the predictive role for treatment with cetuximab vs bevacizumab in combination with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

MRI-based radiomics signature for tumor grading of rectal carcinoma using random forest model

The present study aimed to construct prospective models for tumor grading of rectal carcinoma by using magnetic resonance (MR)-based radiomics features. A set of 118 patients with rectal carcinoma was analyzed. After imbalance-adjustments of the data using Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), the final data set was randomized into the training set and validation set at the ratio of 3:1. The radiomics features were captured from manually segmented lesion of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The most related radiomics features were selected using the random forest model by calculating the Gini importance of initial extracted characteristics. A random forest classifier model was constructed using the top important features. The classifier model performance was evaluated via receive operator characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC). A total of 1,131 radiomics features were extracted from segmented lesion. The top 50 most important features were selected to construct a random forest classifier model. The AUC values of grade 1, 2, 3, and 4 for training set were 0.918, 0.822, 0.775, and 1.000, respectively, and the corresponding AUC values for testing set were 0.717, 0.683, 0.690, and 0.827 separately. The developed feature selection method and machine learning-based prediction models using radiomics features of MRI show a relatively acceptable performance in tumor grading of rectal carcinoma and could distinguish the tumor subjects from the healthy ones, which is important for the prognosis of cancer patients.

Site-specific Differences in Colonic Adenocarcinoma: KRAS Mutations and High Tumor Budding Are More Frequent in Cecal Adenocarcinoma

Recent literature indicates that adenocarcinomas of the cecum differ with respect to molecular alterations compared with noncecal proximal colon adenocarcinomas and that cecal tumor site may be a prognostically relevant variable. We compared molecular alterations, histopathologic features, and disease-specific survival in a series of 328 colonic adenocarcinomas identified over a 2-year period and stratified by tumor location (cecum, right colon, and left colon). Overall, cecal adenocarcinomas demonstrated the highest frequency of molecular abnormalities with 74% harboring either a KRAS exon 2 or 3 mutation, a BRAF mutation, or DNA mismatch repair protein deficiency. KRAS mutations were more frequently seen in the cecum compared with all other tumor sites (P=0.03). KRAS mutations were identified in 46% of cecal adenocarcinomas compared with only 25% of adenocarcinomas of the right colon (P=0.004). Cecal adenocarcinomas more frequently displayed adverse histopathologic features, in particular high tumor budding (31%), compared with tumors of the right colon (18%; P=0.04) and tumors of the left colon (17%; P=0.02). Overall stage was the most important independent predictor of disease-specific survival in the multivariable analysis; however, cecal tumor site and high tumor budding were also predictive of poor survival, particularly in patients with stage III or IV tumors. In conclusion, cecal adenocarcinomas are characterized by a high frequency of KRAS mutations compared with noncecal right colon tumors, frequently display high tumor budding, and may be a prognostically relevant variable, particularly in patients with stage III or IV disease.

Impact of Tumor Location and Variables Associated With Overall Survival in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: A Mayo Clinic Colon and Rectal Cancer Registry Study

Background: Our study investigated the demographic characteristics of Mayo Clinic Colon and Rectal Cancer Registry patients and sought to associate tumor location with overall survival.

Methods: Using the cohort of patients seen at Mayo Clinic (Minnesota, Arizona, Florida) from 1972 to 2017, we obtained 26,908 colorectal adenocarcinoma patient records. Overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer was analyzed by sidedness (right vs. left) and location (right vs. left vs. rectum). Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyze all demographic and cancer variables available within the dataset to trace survival over a 35-year period. Subgroups within variables were compared to each other using log-rank test and considered significantly different at P < 0.05. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess impact of tumor location while controlling for age, year of diagnosis, sex, tumor stage, and tumor grade. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the independent effect of cancer location on overall survival after adjusting for age, gender, year of diagnosis, and cancer stage. To further explore the potential interaction effect of cancer location with cancer stage and year of diagnosis, similar multivariable Cox model was fit stratified by cancer stage (1–3 vs. 4) and by year of diagnosis (<1980, 1980–2000, >2000).

Results: Overall survival differed significantly within all variables studied after Kaplan–Meier method analysis (P < 0.0001). Survival was higher in the left-side group when evaluated by tumor sidedness, and rectal cancer patients had the highest median survival (101.3 months). Right-sided cancer patients had the worst prognosis in both tumor location and sidedness analyses, with a median survival of 76.6 months. However, the stratified analysis showed that, the difference in survival between left- and right-sided cancer only existed in late cancer stage (stage 4) patients but not in early cancer stage; therefore, screening for CRC to pick cancer at an early stage can influence overall survival significantly.

Conclusion: These observations confirm some of the previous and recent studies on sidedness of colorectal cancer patients. Our analysis is novel in that it included patients of all stages rather than just stage IV metastatic patients. This initial study provides a platform to investigate more biologic and clinical factors associated with tumor location. Merging this dataset with other available datasets and previously conducted studies within the institution will provide a robust platform for multiple future studies and collaborations. Finally, appropriate screening can result in a decrease in incidence and mortality of CRC.

Prognostic Implications of Extranodal Extension in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Location

Purpose

Extranodal extension (ENE) is closely associated with the aggressiveness of both colon and rectal cancer. This study evaluated the clinicopathologic significance and prognostic impact of ENE in separate populations of patients with colon and rectal cancers.

Materials and Methods

The medical records of 2,346 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who underwent curative surgery at our institution between January 2003 and December 2011 were clinically and histologically reviewed.

Results

ENE was associated with younger age, advanced tumor stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and perineural invasion (PNI) in both colon and rectal cancer. ENE rates differed significantly in patients with right colon (36.9%), left colon (42.6%), and rectal (48.7%) cancers (right vs. left, p=0.037; left vs. rectum, p=0.009). The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate according to ENE status and primary tumor site differed significantly in patients with ENE-negative colon cancer (80.5%), ENE-negative rectal cancer (77.4%), ENE-positive colon cancer (68.6%), and ENE-positive rectal cancer (64.2%) (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that advanced tumor stage, ENE, LVI, PNI, and absence of adjuvant chemotherapy were independently prognostic of reduced DFS in colon and rectal cancer patients.

Conclusion

ENE is closely associated with the aggressiveness of colon and rectal cancers, with its frequency increasing from the right colon to the left colon to the rectum. ENE status is a significant independent predictor of DFS in CRC patients irrespective of tumor location. ENE might be more related with distally located CRC.

Surgical Anatomy of the Superior Mesenteric Vessels Related to Colon and Pancreatic Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The surgeon dissecting the base of the mesenterium, around the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and artery, is facing a complex tridimensional vascular anatomy and should be aware of the anatomical variants in this area. The aim of this systematic review is to propose a standardized terminology of the superior mesenteric vessels, with impact in colon and pancreatic resections. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases up to March 2017. Forty-five studies, involving a total of 6090 specimens were included in the present meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of the ileocolic, right colic and middle colic arteries was 99.8%, 60.1%, and 94.6%, respectively. The superior right colic vein and Henle trunk were present in 73.9%, and 89.7% of specimens, respectively. In conclusion, the infra-pancreatic anatomy of the superior mesenteric vessels is widely variable. We propose the term Henle trunk to be used for any venous confluence between gastric, pancreatic and colic veins, which drains between the inferior border of the pancreas and up to 20 mm downward on the right-anterior aspect of the SMV. The term gastrocolic trunk should not be synonymous, but a subgroup of the Henle trunk, together with to gastropancreatocolic, gastropancreatic, or colopancreatic trunk.