Survival and outcomes after laparoscopic versus open curative resection for colon cancer

Recent Technical Developments in the Field of Laparoscopic Surgery: A Literature Review

The benefits of laparoscopic surgery (LS) include a speedy recovery, shorter duration of hospital stay, minimal postoperative pain, discomfort and disabilities, and better cosmetic outcomes (less scarring) that help an individual to resume normal daily activities and return to work. A comprehensive literature search on laparoscopic surgeries was conducted using different Internet-based search engines and databases from August 2021 to October 2021. The search was limited to articles published in the English language and those published between years 2005 and 2021. A total of 126 articles were initially identified. Two independent reviewers thoroughly examined the quality and content of the articles. Articles with duplicate data were excluded, and the remaining articles were screened and assessed by the titles and abstracts. After a vigorous assessment, we included data from 49 articles for this review process. Bibliographic management was done using the software “EndNote” (Thomson Reuters, New York, NY, USA).

It was concluded that LS has become the technique of choice for virtually every kind of abdominal surgery, evident by numerous scholarly publications in this field. Level I evidence demonstrating the advantage of LS over open surgery has been reported for numerous operations, including fundoplication for gastroesophageal regurgitation disease, bariatric surgery for weight loss, and cancer resection. Advanced LS has subsequently been expanded to include hepatectomy, pancreatectomy, urology, and gynecology. Patients who are at risk of having elevated abdominal pressure during LS, however, should proceed with care. Recent advances in natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, single-incision laparoscopic surgery, and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery are promising.

Risk Factors, Clinical Manifestations and Treatment Outcomes of Colon Cancer Patients in National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Introduction

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and its incidence is increasing day by day. Provision of early management to cancer patients can lead to a good prognosis. Hence, we evaluated the risk factors, clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes for colon cancer patients in National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from January 2010 to December 2020 by comparing those results according to their age groups.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was performed on 251 colon cancer patients who underwent a surgical procedure. The patients were divided into the following age groups: ≤ 50 (young), 51-60 and > 60 (old) years old. The demographic variables such as age and gender were collected. The results were classified into risk factors, clinical features and treatment outcomes. The comparison between different age groups was made using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. The data was stored in Excel 2016 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, USA) and analyzed using SPSS (IBM Corp, Armonk, USA).

Results

The results revealed that most patients were males and the median age for diagnosis was 58 years old. There were 15.1% of patients with a positive family history. Moreover, the most common anatomical position was the left side of the colon in all age groups. Most patients had moderately differentiated colon cancer in the histopathological diagnosis. Laparotomy was the most common procedure done to patients in all age groups. There was no difference between all age groups and the aggressiveness of colon cancer. Young patients (≤ 50 years) had a higher percentage to have 5-year recurrence rate (42 % vs 19% vs 25%, p-value < 0.05) in comparison to patients between 51-60 years and old patients (> 60 years) respectively. However, there was no association between all age groups and 5-year mortality rate (22% vs 9% vs 19%, p-value = 0.171).

Conclusion

In comparison to old patients (> 60 years), young patients (≤ 50 years) have a more rate of recurrent colon cancer. In relation to all age groups, there were no differences in terms of the aggressive presentation or 5-year mortality rates. In addition, it appears that there were some differences between our study results and worldwide results. This may be because of occupational, cultural and/or genetic variations. Further studies with a higher number of patients and multicenter data collection are highly recommended.

Development and validation of a risk prediction model and nomogram for colon adenocarcinoma based on methylation-driven genes

Evidence suggests that abnormal DNA methylation patterns play a crucial role in the etiology and pathogenesis of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). In this study, we identified a total of 97 methylation-driven genes (MDGs) through a comprehensive analysis of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Univariate Cox regression analysis identified four MDGs (CBLN2, RBM47, SLCO4C1, and TMEM220) associated with overall survival (OS) in COAD patients. A risk prediction model was then developed based on these four MDGs to predict the prognosis of COAD patients. We also created a nomogram that incorporated risk scores, age, and TNM stage to promote a personalized prediction of OS in COAD patients. Compared with the traditional TNM staging system, our new nomogram was better at predicting the OS of COAD patients. In cell experiments, we confirmed that the mRNA expression levels of CLBN2 and TMEM220 were regulated by the methylation of their promoter regions. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed that CBLN2 and TMEM220 were potential prognostic biomarkers for COAD patients. In summary, we have established a risk prediction model and nomogram that might be effectively utilized to promote the prediction of OS in COAD patients.