This study shows that viscerally obese patients with stage II colorectal cancer are at higher risk for poor outcomes and should be increasingly considered for adjuvant chemotherapy.

No abstract

The administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer with pCR is associated with improved overall survival, particularly in patients with pretreatment node-positive disease. Although this study suggests a beneficial effect of adjuvant treatment on survival in patients with pCR, these results are limited by the presence of potential unmeasured confounding in this nonrandomized study.

Closure of ileostomy is associated with a significant complication rate. It may use as many resources as the primary surgery and is not a minor follow-up operation.

Objective To identify predictors of positive circumferential resection margin following rectal cancer resection in the United States. Background Positive circumferential resection margin is associated with a high rate of local recurrence and poor morbidity and mortality for rectal cancer patients. Prior study has shown poor compliance with national rectal cancer guidelines, but whether this finding is reflected in patient outcomes has yet to be shown. Methods Patients who underwent resection for stage I-III rectal cancer were identified from the 2010-2011 National Cancer Database. The primary outcome was a positive circumferential resection margin. The relationship between patient, hospital, tumor, and treatment-related characteristics was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analysis. Findings A positive circumferential resection margin was noted in 2,859 (17.2%) of the 16,619 patients included. Facility location, clinical T and N stage, histologic type, tumor size, tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, type of operation, and operative approach were significant predictors of positive circumferential resection margin on multivariable analysis. Total proctectomy had nearly a 30% increased risk of positive margin compared to partial proctectomy (OR 1.293, 95%CI 1.185-1.411) and a laparoscopic approach had nearly 22% less risk of a positive circumferential resection margin compared to an open approach (OR 0.882, 95%CI 0.790-0.985). Interpretation Despite advances in surgical technique and multimodality therapy, rates of positive circumferential resection margin remain high in the United States. Several tumor and treatment characteristics were identified as independent risk factors, and advances in rectal cancer care are necessary to approach the outcomes seen in other countries.