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Morarasu S, Livadaru C, Dimofte GM. Quality assessment of surgery for colorectal cancer: Where do we stand? World J Gastrointest Surg 2024; 16:982-987. [PMID: 38690042 PMCID: PMC11056676 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i4.982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Quality assurance in surgery has been one of the most important topics of debate among colorectal surgeons in the past decade. It has produced new surgical standards that led in part to the impressive oncological outcomes we see in many units today. Total mesorectal excision, complete mesocolic excision (CME), and the Japanese D3 lymphadenectomy are now benchmark techniques embraced by many surgeons and widely recommended by surgical societies. However, there are still ongoing discrepancies in outcomes largely based on surgeon performance. This is one of the main reasons why many countries have shifted colorectal cancer surgery only to high volume centers. Defining markers of surgical quality is thus a perquisite to ensure that standards and oncological outcomes are met at an institutional level. With the evolution of CME surgery, various quality markers have been described, mostly based on measurements on the surgical specimen and lymph node yield, while others have proposed radiological markers (i.e. arterial stumps) measured on postoperative scans as part of the routine cancer follow-up. There is no ideal marker; however, taken together and assembled into a new score or set of criteria may become a future point of reference for reporting outcomes of colorectal cancer surgery in research studies and defining subspecialization requirements both at an individual and hospital level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Morarasu
- The Second Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi 707483, Romania
| | - Cristian Livadaru
- The Second Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi 707483, Romania
| | - Gabriel-Mihail Dimofte
- The Second Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi 707483, Romania
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Livadaru C, Morarasu S, Bargaoanu R, Iacob S, Frunza T, Musina AM, Velenciuc N, Roata CE, Zugun-Eloae F, Ferariu D, Lunca S, Dimofte MG. The mesocolic apical fragment in complete mesocolic excision colectomies: Should it be analysed separately? A proof-of-concept study. Colorectal Dis 2023; 25:234-242. [PMID: 36227063 DOI: 10.1111/codi.16362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
AIM The aim of this work is to describe a protocol and assess the feasibility of harvesting and analysing the mesocolic apical fragment (MAF) for the presence of central lymph node (LN) metastasis and extra lymphatic free tumour cells in a random subgroup extracted from a cohort of complete mesocolic excision colectomies with central vascular ligation. METHOD Forty-seven patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer were included. A 2/2 cm pyramid of tissue was cut around the central tie and sent for pathological examination. The MAF was sectioned into 16 slices. High-definition images were taken from the slices which were merged into a panoramic three-dimensional image of the MAF. The distribution of LNs in the MAF was quantified. Immunohistochemistry staining for cytokeratin 14 was used to identify isolated tumour cells and micrometastases in the extranodal tissue. RESULTS No tumoural cells migrating through the apical zone, outside of the LNs, were identified. Margins of resection, mesocolic tissue and LNs were all negative in the subgroup of ultrastaged MAFs. The number of examined central LNs varied between 0 and 24, with positive MAF LNs being identified only in pN2 stages. The rate of positive apical LNs in our cohort was 4.2% (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS The MAF can be easily extracted from standard specimens, allowing for accurate analysis of lymphatic and extra-nodal tumour cells on the central resection margins, in central LNs and in the apical mesocolic tissue. Future research on larger cohorts is required to establish if analysing the MAF has an impact on patient staging, prognosis and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Livadaru
- Radiology and Medical Imaging Department, St Spiridon University Hospital, Iași, Romania.,Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania
| | - Stefan Morarasu
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Roxana Bargaoanu
- 2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Stefan Iacob
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Tudor Frunza
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Ana Maria Musina
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Natalia Velenciuc
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Cristian Ene Roata
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Florin Zugun-Eloae
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,Center of Fundamental Research and Experimental Development in Translational Medicine at Regional Institute of Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iasi, Romania
| | - Dan Ferariu
- Department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iasi, Romania
| | - Sorinel Lunca
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
| | - Mihail-Gabriel Dimofte
- Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania.,2nd Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology (IRO), Iași, Romania
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Comparing 5-Year Survival Rates Before and After Re-stratification of Stage I-III Right-Sided Colon Cancer Patients by Establishing the Presence/Absence of Occult Tumor Cells and Lymph Node Metastases in the Different Levels of Surgical Dissection. J Gastrointest Surg 2022; 26:2201-2211. [PMID: 36036877 PMCID: PMC9568470 DOI: 10.1007/s11605-022-05434-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To establish the impact of re-stratification on the outcomes of patients (stage I-III right-sided colon cancer) based on the presence/absence of occult tumor cells (OTC) and/or metastatic lymph nodes in the different levels of surgical dissection. METHODS Consecutive patients were drawn from a multicenter prospective trial. After surgery, the surgical specimen was divided into the D1/D2 and D3 volumes before being further analyzed separately. All lymph nodes were examined with cytokeratin CAM 5.2 immunohistochemically. Lymph nodes containing metastases and OTC (micrometastases; isolated tumor cells) were identified. Re-stratification was as follows: RS1, stages I/II, no OTC in D1/D2 and D3 volumes; RS2, stages I/II, OTC in D1/D2 and/or D3; RS3, stage III, lymph node metastases in D1/D2, with/without OTC in D3; RS4, stage III, lymph node metastases in D3, with/without OTC in D3. RESULTS Eighty-seven patients (39 men, 68.4 + 9.9 years) were included. The standard stratified (SS) group contained the following: stages I/II (SS1) 57 patients; stage III (SS2) 30 patients. Re-stratified (RS) contained RS1 (38), RS2 (19), RS3 (24), and RS4 (6) patients. Lymph node ratio (OTC) RS2: 0.157 D1/D2; 0.035 D3 and 0.092 complete specimens. Lymph node ratio RS3: 0.113 D1/D2; complete specimen 0.056. Overall survival and disease-free survival were p = 0.875 and p = 0.049 for SS and p = 0.144 and p = 0.001 for RS groups, respectively. CONCLUSION This re-stratification identifies a patient group with poor prognosis (RS4). Removing this group from SS2 eliminates all the differences in survival between RS2 and RS3 groups. The level of dissection of the affected nodes may have an impact on survival. CLINICAL TRIAL "Safe Radical D3 Right Hemicolectomy for Cancer through Preoperative Biphasic Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) Angiography" registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01351714.
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