Preoperative Localization of Early Colorectal Cancer or a Malignant Polyp by Using the Patient's Own Blood

Safety and efficacy of autologous blood tattooing for preoperative colonic localization: a comparative study with conventional India ink tattooing

BACKGROUND

India ink has been a popular choice for a tattooing agent in preoperative endoscopic localization but often results in unfavorable effects. Subsequently, autologous blood tattooing has arisen as an alternative option. Due to the limited availability of comparative studies on the matter, we conducted a study to compare the perioperative outcomes associated with India ink tattooing versus autologous blood tattooing.

METHODS

A total of 96 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgical procedures for left-sided colonic neoplasm following preoperative endoscopic localization were included in the study. These patients were categorized into two groups: 36 patients who received India ink tattooing and 60 patients who underwent autologous blood tattooing. The perioperative outcomes including procedure-related outcomes and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in visibility and spillage of tattooing agent between India ink group and autologous blood group. However, India ink group showed a higher incidence of post-tattooing fever, higher level of postoperative C-reactive protein level, longer time to first flatus, resumption of surgical soft diet, and duration of hospital stay, and a higher occurrence of postoperative complications including ileus and surgical site infection compared with the autologous blood group. In the multivariate analysis, India ink tattooing was significantly associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications. In the subgroup analysis involving patients with intraperitoneal spillage, the autologous blood group demonstrated significantly favorable perioperative outcomes compared with India ink group.

CONCLUSIONS

Autologous blood tattooing demonstrated comparable visibility and enhanced safety, establishing it as a potential alternative to India ink for preoperative endoscopic localization.

Preoperative tumor marking with indocyanine green (ICG) prior to minimally invasive colorectal cancer: a systematic review of current literature

AIM

To describe the currently available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of preoperative tumor marking using indocyanine green (ICG) prior to laparoscopic or robotic colorectal resections.

METHODS

A systematic search for relevant studies was conducted using the following databases: Embase (OVID), MEDLINE® (OVID), APA PsycInfo (OVID), Global Health (OVID) and HMIC Health Management Information Consortium (OVID) through June 2022 reported according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Primary outcome was the detection rate of the tumor sites preoperatively marked with ICG. Secondary outcomes were timing of ICG injection in days prior to the operation and technique-related complications.

RESULTS

Eight single center studies, published between 2008 and 2022, were identified yielding a total of 1,061 patients, of whom 696 were preoperatively tattooed with ICG. Injection dosage of diluted ICG ranged from 0.1-1.5 ml. Four studies used the saline test injection method prior to ICG injection. When the marking was placed within one week, the visualization rate was 650/668 (97%), whereas when it was longer than one week, the detection rate was 8/56 (14%). No severe complications were reported.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative tumor marking using ICG prior to minimally invasive colorectal resections is safe and effective, allowing intraoperative tumor site location when performed up to a week prior to surgery without disturbing the surgical view in potential mild complications.

Assessment of Autologous Blood marker localIzation and intraoperative coLonoscopy localIzation in laparoscopic colorecTal cancer surgery (ABILITY): a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery has been proved to have similar oncological outcomes with open surgery. Due to the lack of tactile perception, surgeons may have misjudgments in laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Therefore, the accurate localization of a tumor before surgery is important, especially in the early stages of cancer. Autologous blood was thought a feasible and safe tattooing agent for preoperative endoscopic localization but its benefits remain controversial. We therefore proposed this randomized trial to the accuracy and safety of autogenous blood localization in small, serosa-negative lesion which will be resected by laparoscopic colectomy.

METHODS

The current study is a single-center, open-label, non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial. Eligible participants would be aged 18-80 years and diagnosed with large lateral spreading tumors that could not be treated endoscopically, malignant polyps treated endoscopically that required additional colorectal resection, and serosa-negative malignant colorectal tumors (≤ cT3). A total of 220 patients would be randomly assigned (1:1) to autologous blood group or intraoperative colonoscopy group. The primary outcome is the localization accuracy. The secondary endpoint is adverse events related to endoscopic tattooing.

DISCUSSION

This trial will investigate whether autologous blood marker achieves similar localization accuracy and safety in laparoscopic colorectal surgery compared to intraoperative colonoscopy. If our research hypothesis is statistically proved, the rational introduction of autologous blood tattooing in preoperative colonoscopy can help improve identification of the location of tumors for laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery, performing an optimal resection, and minimizing unnecessary resections of normal tissues, thereby improving the patient's quality of life. Our research data will also provide high quality clinical evidence and data support for the conduction of multicenter phase III clinical trials.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05597384. Registered 28 October 2022.

Preoperative tumor marking with indocyanine green prior of robotic colorectal resections

This prospective case-series study aimed to assess the usefulness of preoperative colonoscopic marking of colorectal tumors using Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescence in patients that underwent robotic surgical colorectal resections. Consecutive patients that were eligible for colorectal resection with intent to cure in a single hospital (Athens Medical Center), from February 2022 to June 2022, were included. ICG solution was injected into the submucosal layer at 2 opposite sites (180 degrees apart) distal to the tumor, without submucosal elevation. Identification of the tumor marking was then performed after switching to near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence mode. During the robotic procedure, qualitative evaluation of fluorescence was performed by the surgical team (primary surgeon, first assistant, second assistant, research fellow). All 10 patients underwent robotic surgical approach and operations included right-sided colectomy (n = 1), left-sided colectomy (n = 6) and low anterior resection (n = 3). Visualisation of this dye with near-infrared light was very clear with bright intensity in all patients when the marking was performed one day prior of surgery. Preoperative tumor marking with ICG was identified intraoperatively in all cases and the techinque was easily reproducible.

Autologous blood for preoperative colorectal TUMOR’S localization: A Vietnamese preliminary experience

Introduction

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCRS) is the optimal choice for cases of early cancer. However, due to their early stage, one of this procedure's challenges is tumoral localization. So that, there are many methods of locating tumors preoperatively that have been studied by authors. Recently, Korean authors have reported a method of injecting autologous blood to mark the tumor before surgery with high efficiency and safety. This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness by analyzing the section biopsy's results, as well as the safety of this procedure.

Materials and method

This study is descriptive cross-section study with analysis of retrospective occurrences of case series of colonoscopy with autologous blood before surgery from October 2020 to December 2021.

Results

16 patients were recruited to the study. The average age was 62.9 ± 13.1 with male/female ratio was 8/8. 50% (8/16 patients) of all cases was early carcinomas, and by location, 62.5% of all cases was sigmoid colon tumors. All 16 patients (100%) found the tumor marking position. None of the patients had complications of marked endoscopy such as intestinal perforation, peritonitis, abdominal abscess, intestinal adhesions, etc.

Conclusion

The method of autologous blood injection to locate the tumor before laparoscopic colorectal surgery is a technique that can be performed effectively and safely.

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Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is the optimal choice for cases of early cancer.

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There are some methods of locating tumors preoperatively.

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Colonoscopy autologous blood injection can be performed effectively and safely.

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We can combine other methods to increase the certainty of tumor location.

The Usefulness of Preoperative Colonoscopic Tattooing with Autologous Blood for Localization in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

Purpose

In colorectal cancer surgery, it is important to have accurate resection margins. However, it is challenging to localize lesions during laparoscopy. Therefore, to reduce surgical errors, many preoperative localizing methods have been introduced. In this study, we aimed to assess the preoperative feasibility and safety of autologous blood tattooing.

Methods

A total of 11 patients underwent preoperative colonoscopic autologous blood tattooing from August 2017 to February 2020. At the start of the surgery, the surgeon assessed the patients for the precision of visibility and other complications such as abscess or spillage. The patients’ characteristics, outcomes, and complications were collected retrospectively.

Results

The study comprised 8 men and 3 women, with an average age of 63 years. Ten patients showed precise visibility, and no localization errors were observed during surgery. No complication was observed in all patients.

Conclusion

Preoperative autologous blood tattooing is a very useful and safe technique because it has high visibility with no complications. This method does not require additional agents or facilities. A large-scale study will be required to develop standard guidelines.

Preoperative Colonoscopic Tattooing with Autologous Blood in Laparoscopic Colorectal Cancer Surgery: Red-Flagging for an Invisible Enemy

In patients with early colorectal cancer, intraoperative localization of the target lesion is troublesome. Several strategies have also been studied for the preoperative localization of colorectal tumors. These include CT colonography, endoscopic metal clipping, endoscopic tattooing, and intraoperative colonoscopy. On the other hand, preoperative tattooing can lead to technical failure for effective tattooing or result in intraperitoneal complications. To minimize these adverse events, several studies performed tattooing with the patient's blood.

Endoscopic Preoperative Tattooing and Marking in the Gastrointestinal Tract: A Systematic Review of Alternative Methods

Background: An accurate and reliable localization of endoluminal gastrointestinal (GI) lesions is crucial, particularly during minimally invasive surgery. As an extreme consequence, a misdetected GI lesion can lead to the resection of the wrong segment, especially in colorectal surgery. A preoperative endoscopic marking is recommended in case of GI lesions, which are expected to be difficult to detect from the serosal side. In clinical practice, three preoperative endoscopic marking methods are currently used: India ink, SPOT™, and endoclips with intraoperative fluoroscopy. All of them have substantial limitations. This has encouraged research on alternative solutions. Methods: In the current systematic review, animal and clinical studies about alternative preoperative endoscopic marking methods of GI lesions were analyzed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Results: Thirty studies were found using PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE/Ovid, and the Cochrane Library for the qualitative analysis. Conclusion: Although several smart solutions have been proposed and tested successfully, all of them seem to have a substantial drawback related either to scarce stability on the marking site or potential spreading on the bowel wall or diffusion into the surgical planes.

Preoperative Tattooing Using Indocyanine Green in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of indocyanine green (ICG) as a preoperative marking dye for laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Methods

Between March 2013 and March 2015, 174 patients underwent preoperative colonoscopic tattooing using 1.0 to 1.5 mL of ICG and saline solution before laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Patients’ medical records and operation videos were retrospectively assessed to evaluate the visibility, duration, and adverse effects of tattooing.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 65 years (range, 34–82 years), and 63.2% of the patients were male. The median interval between tattooing and operation was 1.0 day (range, 0–14 days). Tattoos placed within 2 days of surgery were visualized intraoperatively more frequently than those placed at an earlier date (95% vs. 40%, respectively, P < 0.001). For tattoos placed within 2 days before surgery, the visualization rates by tattoo site were 98.6% (134 of 136) from the ascending colon to the sigmoid colon. The visualization rates at the rectosigmoid colon and rectum were 84% (21 of 25) and 81.3% (13 of 16), respectively (P < 0.001). No complications related to preoperative ICG tattooing occurred.

Conclusion

Endoscopic ICG tattooing is more useful for the preoperative localization of colonic lesions than it is for rectal lesions and should be performed within 2 days before laparoscopic surgery.

Preoperative localization of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Preoperative colorectal tumor localization is crucial for appropriate resection and treatment planning. As the localization accuracy of conventional colonoscopy is considered to be low, several localization techniques have been developed. We systematically reviewed the tumor localization error rates of several preoperative endoscopic techniques and synthesized information on risk factors for localization errors and procedure-related adverse events.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and the grey literature were searched. Studies were included if they reported tumor localization errors in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing resection with curative intent. Using random-effects models, pooled incidence of tumor localization errors were derived for conventional colonoscopy and colonoscopic tattooing. Due to the lack of comparative studies, a direct comparison of the pooled estimates was performed. Procedure-related adverse events, risk factors for localization errors, and the localization outcomes of other techniques such as colonoscopic clip placement, radioguided occult colonic lesion identification, and the use of magnetic endoscope imaging were also synthesized.

RESULTS

A total of 38 non-randomized controlled and observational studies were included in this review (2578 patients underwent conventional colonoscopy and 643 colonoscopic tattooing). The pooled incidence of localization errors with conventional colonoscopy was 15.4 % (95 % CI 12.0-18.7), whereas that of colonoscopic tattooing was 9.5 % (95 % CI 5.7-13.3), mean difference 5.9 % (95 % CI 0.65-11.14, p = 0.03). Adverse events secondary to tattooing were infrequent, and most were cases of ink spillage. Limited information was available for other localization techniques.

CONCLUSION

Conventional colonoscopy has a higher incidence of localization error compared to colonoscopic tattooing for localization of colorectal cancer. Colonoscopic tattooing is safe and leads to fewer tumor localization errors. Given the widespread adoption of laparoscopic resections for colorectal cancer, routine colonoscopic tattooing should be adopted. However, studies directly comparing different localization techniques are needed.

[Colonoscopic Tattooing of Colonic Lesions]

With the development of minimal invasive surgery including laparoscopic and robot surgery, colonoscopic tattooing of colonic lesions is becoming more important to ensure easy localization of the lesion during surgery. Lack of accurate lesion identification during minimal invasive surgery may lead to resection of wrong segment of the bowel. In this article, some topics including proper materials, injection technique, and safety of colonoscopic tattooing are reviewed.