Influence of previous abdominal surgery on surgical outcomes between laparoscopic and open surgery in elderly patients with colorectal cancer: subanalysis of a large multicenter study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to examine the technical and oncological feasibility of laparoscopic surgery (LAP) in elderly patients with a history of abdominal surgery. METHODS: We conducted a propensity score-matched case-control study of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients aged ≥80 years that were treated at 41 hospitals between 2003 and 2007. We included 601 patients who had a history of abdominal surgery and underwent curative and elective surgery for stage 0 to III CRC. After the matching procedure, 153 patients were included in each cohort. The surgical outcomes of LAP and open surgery (OS) were compared. P-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: LAP resulted in a significantly longer surgical time (220 vs. 170 min, p < 0.001), but significantly less intraoperative blood loss (39 vs. 100 ml, p < 0.001). A number of postoperative recovery-related parameters, including the length of the hospitalization period (12 vs. 14 days, p = 0.002), and the days to the resumption of fluid (2 vs. 3 days, p < 0.001) and solid food intake (4 vs. 5 days, p < 0.001), were significantly better in the LAP group. Moreover, the overall morbidity rate (43 vs. 66 %, p = 0.009) and the frequency of postoperative ileus (7 vs. 19 %, p = 0.023) were significantly lower in the LAP group, while the frequencies of other morbidities did not differ significantly between the groups. In the survival analyses, overall survival and disease-free survival did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this population, LAP can be performed safely in elderly CRC patients with a history of abdominal surgery, and LAP resulted in a lower postoperative morbidity rate than OS.

Propensity score-matched study of laparoscopic and open surgery for colorectal cancer in rural hospitals.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Various randomized clinical studies have suggested that short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic surgery (LAP) for colorectal cancer are comparable with those of open surgery (OP). However, these studies were performed in high-volume hospitals. The aim of the present study was to compare the outcomes of LAP versus OP for colorectal cancer in rural hospitals. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective propensity score-matched case-control study of patients who underwent colorectal surgery from January 2004 to April 2009 in 10 hospitals in Japan. All patients underwent curative surgery for pathologically diagnosed stage II or III colorectal cancer. The primary end point was 5-year overall survival (OS). The secondary end points were disease-free survival (DFS) and postoperative complications. RESULTS: In total, 319 patients who underwent LAP and 1020 patients who underwent OP were balanced to 261 pairs. There was no significant difference in the OS and DFS between two groups. The operation time was significantly shorter for OP than for LAP. Blood loss was significantly lower in LAP than in OP. There was no difference in intraoperative morbidity between the two groups. The postoperative morbidity was significantly lower in LAP than in OP. The hospital stay was significantly shorter in LAP than in OP. There was no significant difference in 90-day postoperative mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic surgery may be a feasible option for colorectal cancer in rural hospitals.

Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer is safe and has survival outcomes similar to those of open surgery in elderly patients with a poor performance status: subanalysis of a large multicenter case-control study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: It remains controversial whether open or laparoscopic surgery should be indicated for elderly patients with colorectal cancer and a poor performance status. METHODS: In those patients aged 80 years or older with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 2 or greater who received elective surgery for stage 0 to stage III colorectal adenocarcinoma and had no concomitant malignancies and who were enrolled in a multicenter case-control study entitled "Retrospective study of laparoscopic colorectal surgery for elderly patients" that was conducted in Japan between 2003 and 2007, background characteristics and short-term and long-term outcomes for open surgery and laparoscopic surgery were compared. RESULTS: Of the 398 patients included, 295 underwent open surgery and 103 underwent laparoscopic surgery. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between open surgery and laparoscopic surgery patients, except for previous abdominal surgery and TNM stage. The median operation duration was shorter with open surgery (open surgery, 153 min; laparoscopic surgery, 202 min; P < 0.001), and less blood loss occurred with laparoscopic surgery (median open surgery, 109 g; median laparoscopic surgery, 30 g; P < 0.001). An operation duration of 180 min or more (odds ratio, 1.97; 95 % confidence interval, 1.17-3.37; P = 0.011) and selection of laparoscopic surgery (odds ratio, 0.41; 95 % confidence interval, 0.22-0.75; P = 0.003) were statistically significant in the multivariate analysis for postoperative morbidity. Moreover, laparoscopic surgery did not result in an inferior overall survival rate compared with open surgery (log-rank test P = 0.289, 0.278, 0.346, 0.199, for all-stage, stage 0-I, stage II, and stage III disease, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic surgery in elderly colorectal cancer patients with a poor performance status is safe and not inferior to open surgery in terms of overall survival.

[Long survival of a colon cancer case with synchronous multiple liver metastases responding to S-1].

In May 2005, a 79-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with complaints of right lower quadrant mass and feces mixed with blood. After examination, she was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer and synchronous multiple liver metastases. Postoperative diagnosis after right hemicolectomy and D3 lymph node dissection was T2, N1, H2, P0, M0, and Stage IV. One month after the operation, we started a combination chemotherapy using 5-FU plus UFT as pharmacokinetic modulating chemotherapy with hepatic arterial infusion (HAI-PMC). But abdominal CT scan revealed the increase of multiple liver metastases, PD, after 4 courses of treatment. We then changed to modified HAI-PMC (additional CPT-11, once every four weeks), but had to cancel it due to her exhaustion and inappetence. Therefore, S-1 was started from October, 2005. Each course consisted of daily oral administration of 80 mg S-1 for 4 weeks and withdrawal for 2 weeks. After 4 courses, abdominal CT scan revealed a reduction in the number of multiple liver metastases, PR. PR has continued for a long term to date. As an adverse event, we had grade 3 neutropenia and grade 2 diarrhea in January 2009, and we changed the administration method (80 mg S-1 for 2 weeks and withdrawal for 1 week). She continues to undergo outpatient treatment with good QOL without a lesion for 4 years and 6 months. S-1 is expected to be an effective agent for the treatment of advanced colon cancer.

Resection of four synchronous invasive ductal carcinomas in the pancreas head and body associated with pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia: report of a case.

This report describes a very rare case of four synchronous invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) in the pancreas head and body with possible multicentricity. The patient was a 75-year-old woman. Abdominal dynamic computed tomography showed four low-density masses (25 mm, 20 mm, 10 mm, and 10 mm in diameter) in the pancreas head and body. The patient underwent a pylorus-preserving subtotal pancreatoduodenectomy. Histologically, the discontinuity between the four tumors was confirmed; one tumor (20 mm) was moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, and the others (25 mm, 10 mm, and 10 mm) were papillary adenocarcinomas. Two smaller papillary adenocarcinomas were composed of abundant fibrosis, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) 2-3, and IDC with stromal invasion. PanIN-1-2 lesions proximal to the four IDCs were evident. The immunohistochemical staining by CK20, MUC1, and Ki-67 revealed apparently different features for 2 IDCs (25 mm and 20 mm) and somewhat differential features for three papillary adenocarcinomas. Therefore, the progression of PanIN to IDC and multicentric occurrences of these four IDCs were possible. In this report, we show that immunohistochemistry and the confirmation of the presence of PanINs in IDC were useful to some extent for the study of multiple pancreatic cancers.

[A case of synchronous hepatocellular carcinoma successfully treated by S-1 and cisplatin (CDDP) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer].

Combination chemotherapy with S-1 and cisplatin(S-1/CDDP)has become the standard treatment for gastric cancer, but the effect for hepatocellular carcinoma has not become clear. We experienced a case with advanced gastric cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma at the same time. We used S-1/CDDP as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the case and performed surgical resection of the gastric cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. From histological examination of the resected specimen, we may be able to prove that the S-1/CDDP chemotherapy for the hepatocellular carcinoma was also effective. A 57-year-old man visited our hospital with epigastralgia. Further examinations revealed a type-3 advanced gastric cancer with bulky N2 and hepatocellular carcinoma at segment 5. The gastric cancer was thought to be too advanced for initial surgery, so we performed S-1/CDDP chemotherapy(S-1 100 mg/body/day, CDDP 20 mg/body twice/week for 2 weeks)as preoperative therapy. After remarkable shrinkage of the gastric cancer was obtained, we performed distal gastrectomy, D2+a lymph node excision, liver S5 segmentectomy and cholecystectomy. The histological examination showed remarkable denaturation and necrosis as grade 2 effectiveness in over two-thirds of the hepatocellular carcinoma area and grade 1b in gastric cancer according to the Japanese classification of gastric carcinoma. This result suggests that S-1/CDDP chemotherapy might therefore be effective as systemic therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. However, further clinical trials are required.