A systematic review of the pathological determinants of outcome following resection by pelvic exenteration of locally advanced and locally recurrent rectal cancer

Dutch national guidelines for locally recurrent rectal cancer

Due to improvements in treatment for primary rectal cancer, the incidence of LRRC has decreased. However, 6-12% of patients will still develop a local recurrence. Treatment of patients with LRRC can be challenging, because of complex and heterogeneous disease presentation and scarce - often low-grade - data steering clinical decisions. Previous consensus guidelines have provided some direction regarding diagnosis and treatment, but no comprehensive guidelines encompassing all aspects of the clinical management of patients with LRRC are available to date. The treatment of LRRC requires a multidisciplinary approach and overarching expertise in all domains. This broad expertise is often limited to specific expert centres, with dedicated multidisciplinary teams treating LRRC. A comprehensive, narrative literature review was performed and used to develop the Dutch National Guideline for management of LRRC, in an attempt to guide decision making for clinicians, regarding the complete clinical pathway from diagnosis to surgery.

Contemporary results from the PelvEx collaborative: improvements in surgical outcomes for locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer

AIM

The PelvEx Collaborative collates global data on outcomes following exenterative surgery for locally advanced and locally recurrent rectal cancer (LARC and LRRC, respectively). The aim of this study is to report contemporary data from within the collaborative and benchmark it against previous PelvEx publications.

METHOD

Anonymized data from 45 units that performed pelvic exenteration for LARC or LRRC between 2017 and 2021 were reviewed. The primary endpoints were surgical outcomes, including resection margin status, radicality of surgery, rates of reconstruction and associated morbidity and/or mortality.

RESULTS

Of 2186 patients who underwent an exenteration for either LARC or LRRC, 1386 (63.4%) had LARC and 800 (36.6%) had LRRC. The proportion of males to females was 1232:954. Median age was 62 years (interquartile range 52-71 years) compared with a median age of 63 in both historical LARC and LRRC cohorts. Compared with the original reported PelvEx data (2004-2014), there has been an increase in negative margin (R0) rates from 79.8% to 84.8% and from 55.4% to 71.7% in the LARC and LRRC cohorts, respectively. Bone resection and flap reconstruction rates have increased accordingly in both cohorts (8.2%-19.6% and 22.6%-32% for LARC and 20.3%-41.9% and 17.4%-32.1% in LRRC, respectively). Despite this, major morbidity has not increased.

CONCLUSION

In the modern era, patients undergoing pelvic exenteration for advanced rectal cancer are undergoing more radical surgery and are more likely to achieve a negative resection margin (R0) with no increase in major morbidity.

The empty pelvis syndrome: a core data set from the PelvEx collaborative

BACKGROUND

Empty pelvis syndrome (EPS) is a significant source of morbidity following pelvic exenteration (PE), but is undefined. EPS outcome reporting and descriptors of radicality of PE are inconsistent; therefore, the best approaches for prevention are unknown. To facilitate future research into EPS, the aim of this study is to define a measurable core outcome set, core descriptor set and written definition for EPS. Consensus on strategies to mitigate EPS was also explored.

METHOD

Three-stage consensus methodology was used: longlisting with systematic review, healthcare professional event, patient engagement, and Delphi-piloting; shortlisting with two rounds of modified Delphi; and a confirmatory stage using a modified nominal group technique. This included a selection of measurement instruments, and iterative generation of a written EPS definition.

RESULTS

One hundred and three and 119 participants took part in the modified Delphi and consensus meetings, respectively. This encompassed international patient and healthcare professional representation with multidisciplinary input. Seventy statements were longlisted, seven core outcomes (bowel obstruction, enteroperineal fistula, chronic perineal sinus, infected pelvic collection, bowel obstruction, morbidity from reconstruction, re-intervention, and quality of life), and four core descriptors (magnitude of surgery, radiotherapy-induced damage, methods of reconstruction, and changes in volume of pelvic dead space) reached consensus-where applicable, measurement of these outcomes and descriptors was defined. A written definition for EPS was agreed.

CONCLUSIONS

EPS is an area of unmet research and clinical need. This study provides an agreed definition and core data set for EPS to facilitate further research.

Pathological determinants of outcome following resection of locally advanced or locally recurrent rectal cancer

INTRODUCTION

Pathological factors that influence and predict survival following pelvic exenteration (PE) for locally advanced (LARC) or locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC), especially LRRC, remain poorly understood. A clear resection margin has previously been demonstrated to be of most significance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed for all patients undergoing a curative PE for LARC or LRRC between 2008 and 2021 at a tertiary referral UK specialist colorectal hospital. Cox regression analysis was planned to identify pathological factors associated with overall (OS), disease free (DFS) and local recurrence free survival (LRFS).

RESULTS

388 patients were included in the analysis with 256 resections for LARC and 132 for LRRC. 62.4% of patients were male with a median age of 59 years (IQR 49-67). 247 (64%) partial pelvic exenterations and 141 (36%) total pelvic exenterations performed. Overall R0 rate 86.6%. Poorly differentiated tumours and a positive resection margin independently influenced OS, DFS and LRFS on multivariate analysis in LARC. On multivariate analysis venous invasion negatively influenced DFS and poorly differentiated lesions negatively influenced LRFS in LRRC.

CONCLUSIONS

A positive resection margin and poorly differentiated tumours are significant negative prognostic markers for survival and recurrence in LARC. The results of this study support the need to look for alternative prognostic markers beyond that in the existing standard reporting dataset for rectal cancers. With increasing R0 rates, novel prognostic pathological markers are required to help guide treatment and surveillance for patients with LRRC.

Establishing a state-wide pelvic exenteration multidisciplinary team meeting in South Australia

BACKGROUND

Pelvic exenteration surgery is complex, necessitating co-ordinated multidisciplinary input and improved referral pathways. A state-wide pelvic exenteration multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting was established in SA and the outcomes of this were audited and compared with historical data.

METHODS

All patients referred for discussion between August 2021 and July 2022 to the SA State-wide Pelvic Exenteration MDT were included in this study. MDT discussion centred around disease resectability, risk versus benefit of surgery, and need for local or interstate referral. Prospective data collection included patient demographics and MDT recommendations of surgery, palliation, or referral. Patients referred for surgery locally or interstate were compared with a retrospective patient cohort treated previously between January and December 2020.

RESULTS

Over 12 months, 91 patients were discussed (including nine multiple times), by a mean of 18 meeting participants each month. Forty-eight patients (58.5%) had primary malignancy, 25 (30.5%) recurrent malignancy, and 9 (11.0%) had non-malignant disease. Colorectal cancer was the most common presentation (56.1%), followed by gynaecological (30.5%) and urological (6.1%) malignancy. Pelvic exenteration surgery was recommended to be performed locally in 53.7% of patients and the remainder for non-surgical treatment, palliation, or re-discussion. During this time, 44 patients underwent surgery locally (versus 34 in 2020) and only 4 referred interstate (versus 8 in 2020).

CONCLUSION

The establishment of a dedicated state-wide pelvic exenteration MDT has resulted in better coordination of care for patients with locally advanced pelvic malignancy in SA, and significantly reduced the need for interstate referral.