Objective To compare efficacy of laparoscopic surgery and open surgery in treatment of rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Methods The relevant literatures were retrieved from databases including CNKI, CBM, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase from 2007 to 2017, all the relevant randomized controlled trial (RCT) or non-randomized controlled trial (NRCT) of laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery in patients with rectal cancer were collected according to the inclusion and exclusion criterial. Two reviewers independently screened the literatures, extracted the data, and assessed the bias risk of the included studies. Then, the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 11 RCTs and 9 NRCTs involving 2 036 patients with rectal cancer were included, of these, including 1 021 cases of laparoscopic surgery and 1 015 cases of open surgery. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the operation time was increased ［WMD=14.21, 95% CI (1.92, 26.51)］, the intraoperative blood loss ［WMD=–38.96, 95% CI (–60.29, –7.63)］, first postoperative exhaust time ［WMD=–0.86, 95% CI (–1.14, –0.57)］, first postoperative intake food time ［WMD=–0.89, 95% CI (–1.15, –0.62)］, and postoperative hospitalization time ［WMD=–2.38, 95% CI (–3.44, –1.32)］ were reduced in the laparoscopic surgery as compared with the open surgery; the rate of the sphincter-saving was increased ［OR=2.35, 95% CI (1.67, 3.30)］, the rates of the local recurrence ［OR=0.25, 95% CI (0.13, 0.47)］, postoperative overall complications ［OR=0.34, 95% CI (0.26, 0.43)］, infection of incision ［OR=0.39, 95% CI (0.25, 0.62)］, intestinal obstruction ［OR=0.30, 95% CI (0.17, 0.53)］, lung infection ［OR=0.32, 95% CI (0.18, 0.57)］, and anastomotic fistula ［OR=0.40, 95% CI (0.22, 0.73)］ were decreased in the laparoscopic surgery as compared with the open surgery; the intraoperative lymph node resection ［WMD=–0.99, 95% CI (–2.11, 0.12)］, the rates of the 3-year disease-free survival ［OR=0.91, 95% CI (0.54, 1.54)］, pelvic infection ［OR=0.64, 95% CI (0.17, 2.45)］, anastomotic bleeding ［OR=0.54, 95% CI (0.22, 1.34)］, urinary retention ［OR=0.71, 95% CI (0.34, 1.48)］, and urinary tract infection ［OR=1.22, 95% CI (0.45, 3.30)］ had no significant differences between these two surgeries. Conclusion Laparoscopy surgery is still safer, more effective, and more reliable than conventional open surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer, but it needs more clinical RCTs to further provide accurate and reliable results.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of the interval between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and surgery on the clinical outcome of esophageal cancer.MethodsPubMed and EMbase databases from inception to March 2018 were retrieved by computer. A random-effect model was used for all meta-analyses irrespective of heterogeneity. The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software. The primary outcomes were operative mortality, incidence of anastomotic leakage, and overall survival; secondary outcomes were pathologic complete remission rate, R0 resection rate, and positive resection margin rate.ResultsA total of 17 studies with 18 173 patients were included. Among them, 13 were original studies with 2 950 patients, and 4 were database-based studies with a total of 15 223 patients. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the interval and operative mortality (Spearman coefficient=0.360, P=0.027). Dose-response meta-analysis revealed that there was a relatively better time window for surgery after nCRT. Further analysis for primary outcomes at different time cut-offs found the following results: (1) when the time cut-off point within 30-70 days, the shorter interval was associated with a reduced operative mortality (7-8 weeks: RR=0.67, 95% CI 0.55-0.81, P<0.05; 30-46 days: RR=0.63, 95%CI 0.47-0.85, P<0.05; 60-70 days: RR=0.64, 95%CI 0.48-0.85, P<0.05); (2) when the time cut-off point within 30-46 days, the shorter interval correlated with a reduced incidence of anastomotic leakage (RR=0.39, 95%CI 0.21-0.72, P<0.05); when the time cut-off point within 7-8 weeks, the shorter interval could achieve a critical-level effect of reducing the incidence of anastomotic leakage (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.52-1.03, P>0.05); (3) when the time cut-off point within 7-8 weeks, increased interval significantly was associated with the poor overall survival (HR=1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.36, P<0.05). Secondary outcomes found that the shorter interval could significantly reduce the positive resection margin rate (RR=0.53, 95% CI 0.38-0.75, P<0.05) when time cut-off point within 56-60 days.ConclusionShortening the interval between nCRT and surgery can reduce the operative mortality, the incidence of anastomotic leakage, long-term mortality risk, and positive resection margin rate. It is recommended that surgery should be performed as soon as possible after the patient's physical recovery, preferably no more than 7-8 weeks, which supports the current study recommendation (within 3-8 weeks after nCRT).
ObjectiveTo make a comprehensive review of the value of radiomics for prediction of therapeutic responses to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).MethodRelevant literatures about the therapeutic response evaluation of LARC by using radiomics were collected to make an review.ResultRadiomics had good predictive value in terms of complete pathologic response (pCR) and treatment effectiveness of NCRT in patients with LARC.ConclusionRadiomics, a new imaging diagnostic technique, plays an important role in the prediction of the efficacy of NCRT in LARC.
ObjectiveTo study the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in predicting and evaluating the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in the middle-low locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).MethodsThe patients were included prospectively who were clinically diagnosed as the LARC and were scheduled to undergo the NCRT and total mesorectal excision (TME) in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from February 2018 to November 2019. The routine MRI and DCE-MRI were performed before and after the NCRT, then the TME was performed. According to the score of tumor regression grade (TRG), the patients with TGR score of 0, 1 or 2 were classified as the response to NCRT group, and those with TRG score of 3 were classified as the non-response to NCRT group; in addition, the patients with TGR score of 0 or 1 were classified as the good-response group, with TRG score of 2 or 3 were classified as the poor-response group. The differences of quantitative perfusion parameters of DCE-MRI between two groups were compared, including the volume transfer constant (Ktrans), flux rate constant (Kep), and extravascular extracellular volume fraction (Ve) and the change rates of these parameters (ΔKtrans, ΔKep, and ΔVe).ResultsForty-one patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study, including 27 cases in the response to NCRT group and 14 cases in the non-response to NCRT group; 11 cases in the the good-response group and 30 cases in the poor-response group. ① The values of Ktrans before the NCRT and the ΔKtrans in the response to NCRT group were higher than those in the non-response to NCRT (P<0.05), while the other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of Ktrans and ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT were 0.954 and 0.709, respectively. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans and ΔKtrans were 0.122/min and –24.2%, the specificity and sensitivity were 85.7%, 96.3% and 100%, 51.7%, respectively. ② The Ktrans value in the good-response group was higher before NCRT and which was lower after NCRT as compared with the poor-response group (P<0.05). The absolute value of the the ΔKtrans and ΔKep in the good-response group were higher than those in the poor-response group (P<0.05). The other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The AUC of Ktrans before NCRT in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was 0.953. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans before NCRT was 0.158 /min, the specificity and sensitivity were 88.7% and 90.9%, respectively. The AUC of ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was higher than that of the ΔKep (0.952 versus 0.764, Z=2.063, P=0.039). When the optimal threshold of ΔKtrans was –38.8%, the specificity and sensitivity were 76.7% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionsDCE-MRI can predict and evaluate the effect of NCRT in patients with middle-low LARC, especially Ktrans and ΔKtrans (change rate before and after NCRT) have a high diagnostic efficiency.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent malignant tumor worldwide. With the development of medical technology, the treatment strategies of CRC are constantly improving and updating. The aim of treating CRC is not only to improve outcomes but also to maintain organ function and enhance quality of life. For patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, a variety of neoadjuvant treatment options are available and it is important to choose an individualized strategy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have become an important part of the first- and posterior-line treatment for patients with deficient mis-match repair or high microsatellite instability colorectal cancer in metastatic colorectal cancer, and the emergence of new targets and drugs has further improved treatment efficacy and long-term survival. Furthermore, an increasing number of studies have confirmed the potential the value of predicting and guiding treatment for minimal residual disease. This article summarizes the representative research results, guideline updates, and important academic conference reports in the field of colorectal cancer.
Objective To investigate the risk factors of liver metastasis in patients with middle and low rectal cancer of Ⅱ–Ⅲ stage after preoperative short course radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. MethodsThe clinical data of 89 patients with middle and low rectal cancer of Ⅱ–Ⅲ stage admitted to the Dongnan Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2019 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated with short-course radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy before operation. The risk factors of postoperative liver metastasis were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. ResultsThe 89 patients were followed up for 7–53 months, with a median follow-up time of 33 months. During the follow-up period, 25 patients developed liver metastasis, the onset time was 7–35 months, and the median time of liver metastasis was 17 months. Among them, 5 patients (5.6%) developed liver metastasis in the first year after surgery, 15 patients (16.8%) developed liver metastasis at the second year after surgery, 5 patients (5.6%) developed liver metastasis at the 3rd year after surgery. Multivariate logistic regression results showed that lymph node metastasis [OR=3.550, 95%CI (1.425, 8.953), P=0.041], vascular invasion [OR=3.335, 95%CI (1.011, 11.001), P=0.048], maximum tumor diameter ≥5 cm [OR=4.477, 95%CI (1.273, 15.743), P=0.019], and peri-tumor diameter ≥1/2 [OR=4.633, 95%CI (1.387, 15.475), P=0.013] were risk factors for liver metastasis. ConclusionsLymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, maximum tumor diameter ≥5 cm, and circumferential tumor diameter ≥1/2 are risk factors for liver metastasis in patients with middle and low rectal cancer of Ⅱ–Ⅲ stage after preoperative short course radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy.