Purpose: The current study was designed to identify prognostic factors for long-term survival in patients with advanced colorectal cancer in a consecutive cohort.
Methods: A total of 123 patients were operated because of T4 colorectal cancer between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2008 in the Clinic of Surgery, UK-SH Campus Luebeck.
Results: A total of 78 patients underwent a multivisceral resection. The postoperative morbidity was elevated in the patient group with multivisceral resections (34.6% vs. 26.7%). Nevertheless, we detected no significant differences concerning 30 days mortality (7.7% vs. 8.9%; p = 0.815). The main prognostic factor that reached significance in the multivariate analysis was the possibility to obtain a R0 resection (p < 0.0001) resulting in a 5-year survival rate of 55% for patients with curative resection. There were no statistically significant differences in 5-year survival between multivisceral and non-multivisceral resections (p = 0.608). Also we were not able to detect any significant differences for cancer of colonic or rectal origin (p = 0.839), for laparoscopic vs. open procedures (p = 0.610), and for emergency vs. planned operations (p = 0.674). Moreover, the existence of lymph node metastases was not a predictive factor concerning survival as there was no difference between patients with and without lymph node metastases (p = 0.658).
Conclusions: Multivisceral resections are associated with the same 5-year survival as standard resections. Therefore, the aim to perform a R0 resection should always be the main goal in surgery for colorectal cancer. In planned operations, a laparoscopic approach is justified in selected patients.