Herein, we demonstrated the feasibility and safety of LCME for right-sided colon cancer, and in terms of better short-term outcomes, LCME was more advantageous than OCME. Although LCME for right-sided colon cancer was associated with better 5-year overall survival, compared with an open approach, the long-term oncologic outcomes between the groups were comparable.

Robotic surgery for rectal cancer after neoadjuvant CRT can be performed safely, with long-term oncological outcomes comparable to those obtained with laparoscopic surgery. More large-scale studies and long-term follow-up data are needed.

There was no difference between the easy, moderate, and difficult groups in terms of surgical outcomes, such as operation time, for robotic rectal surgery. The robot system can provide more comfort during surgery for the surgeon, and may overcome challenges associated with difficult pelvic anatomy.

PurposeThe prognosis of patientswith colon cancer and para-aortic lymph node metastasis (PALNM) is poor. We analyzed the prognostic factors of extramesenteric lymphadenectomy for colon cancer patients with isolated PALNM.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 49 patients with PALNM who underwent curative resection between October 1988 and December 2009.ResultsIn univariate analyses, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were higher in patients with ≤ 7 positive para-aortic lymph node (PALN) (36.5% and 27.5%) than in those with > 7 PALN (14.3% and 14.3%; p=0.010 and p=0.027, respectively), and preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level > 5 was also correlated with a lower 5-year OS and DFS rate of 21.5% and 11.7% compared with those with CEA ≤ 5 (46.3% and 41.4%; p=0.122 and 0.039, respectively). Multivariate analysis found that the number of positive PALN (hazard ratio [HR], 3.291; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.309 to 8.275; p=0.011) was an independent prognostic factor for OS and the number of positive PALN (HR, 2.484; 95% CI, 0.993 to 6.211; p=0.052) and preoperative CEA level (HR, 1.953; 95% CI, 0.940 to 4.057; p=0.073) were marginally independent prognostic factors for DFS. According to our prognostic model, the 5-year OS and DFS rate increased to 59.3% and 53.3%, respectively, in patients with ≤ 7 positive PALN and CEA level ≤ 5.ConclusionPALN dissection might be beneficial in carefully selected patients with a low CEA level and less extensive PALNM.

PALNM in colon cancer is associated with poorer survival than regional lymph node metastasis and showed comparable survival rates with metastasectomy for liver metastasis. Further studies evaluating the net benefit of upfront chemotherapy compared with initial resection for patients with potentially resectable PALNM are needed.

[18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is commonly used for rectal cancer staging, but improved diagnostic methods for nodal metastases are needed. We aimed to evaluate whether the combination model of the metabolic tumor volume of primary tumor (T_MTV) and maximum standardized uptake value of lymph node (N_SUVmax) on pretreatment [18F]FDG PET/CT could improve nodal metastases prediction in rectal cancer. We enrolled a total of 166 rectal cancer patients who underwent pretreatment [18F]FDG PET/CT and surgical resection without neoadjuvant treatment between January 2009 and August 2016. Visual and semiquantitative PET/CT parameters were obtained. Associations between clinicopathological, PET/CT-derived variables and nodal metastases were evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Nodal metastases were confirmed histologically in 68 of the 166 patients (41%). Uni- and multivariate analyses demonstrated T_MTV and N_SUVmax were independent predictive factors for nodal metastases. The c-statistics of the combination model was 0.806 (Standard Error, 0.034; 95% Confidence Interval, 0.737–0.863), which showed significant improvement compared to T_MTV (0.698, P = 0.0002) or N_SUVmax (0.720, P = 0.0008) alone. T_MTV and N_SUVmax are independently correlated with nodal metastases. Furthermore, the combination model showed improved performance for risk prediction; thus, [18F]FDG PET/CT might have a role in rectal cancer staging and treatment planning.

A totally robotic approach for rectal cancer operations was a time-consuming procedure, although we already had a lot experience in laparoscopic colorectal surgery. However, the dexterity of the robotic surgery could enable the surgeon to expand the choice of surgical methods according to the condition of the rectal cancer without the need for conversion.

Robotic left colon cancer resection using our dual docking technique is safe and feasible. This procedure can maximize splenic mobilization in robotic colorectal surgery.