The purpose of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping involving transanal injection with an
Between April 2007 and December 2009, 20 consecutive patients with T1-3, N0-1 clinical stage rectal cancer preoperatively underwent a SLN procedure using submucosal 99mTc-phytate injection. All the patients underwent a total mesorectal excision. After the standard surgical resection, all specimens were identified on lymphoscintigraphy, and bench work was done to pick up the sentinel node basin. All the lymph nodes (non-SLNs and SLNs) were examined using conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry with anti-cytokeratin antibodies.
SLNs were identified from 19 of 20 patients with rectal cancer. The total number of sentinel nodes retrieved from the surgical specimens was 29, and the mean number per patient was 1.6 (range, 0 to 4). In three patients, the SLN was the only positive lymph node. There was one false-negative case with a sensitivity of 88.8% and two upstaged cases (20.0%). The SLN samples from rectal cancer are mainly localized in the pararectal region, but aberrant nodes receive direct drainage from the rectal cancer. On planar lymphoscintigraphy, 15.7% of all patients had aberrant lymphatic drainage to the sigmoid mesenteric or sigmoid lymph node station.
In conclusion, the intraoperative transanal injection for
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Many randomized clinical trials have been performed to treat a colorectal neoplasm with the exclusion of descending colon cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the difference in surgical outcomes between a laparoscopic left hemicolectomy and a conventional open left hemicolectomy for descending colon cancer.
A retrospective study of ninety patients with descending colon cancer, who underwent a laparoscopic (LAP) or open left hemicolectomy (OS) between May 1998 and December 2009 at Kyungpook National University Hospital, was performed. Clinicopathological and surgical outcomes were compared between the LAP and the OS for descending colon cancer.
The baseline characteristics, including age, gender, body mass index, history of prior abdominal surgical history and tumor location, were similar between the two groups. The mean operation time was 156.2 minutes for the LAP group and 223.2 minutes for the OS group (P < 0.001). Intraoperative blood loss was significantly greater in the OS group (37.5 mL vs. 80.4 mL; P = 0.039). The postoperative recovery in the LAP group was faster, as reflected by the shorter time to pass gas and the shorter hospital stay. Pathological examinations showed the surgery to be equally radical in the two groups. The median follow-up was 21 months and there were 3 distant metastases (8.5%) during follow-up in the LAP group, but no port-site or local recurrence.
A laparoscopic left hemicolectomy is a technically safe and feasible procedure for treating descending colon cancer. Prospective multi-center trials are necessary to establish the LAP as the standard treatment for descending colon cancer.
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