Palliative Laparoscopic Resections for Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

PURPOSE: METHODS:A prospective database of laparoscopic resections for colorectal cancer performed between 1991 and 2002 was reviewed. Data regarding patient demographics, perioperative morbidity and mortality, operative times, conversion rates, and length of stay were extracted. Statistical analysis included chi-squared and Student's t-tests as required and P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS:A total of 375 cases were identified, of these 49 (13 percent) underwent laparoscopic palliative resections while 326 (87 percent) patients had resections for cure. When comparing palliative to curative procedures, there were no differences in intraoperative (4 percent vs. 9 percent) or postoperative complications (14 percent vs. 12 percent), perioperative mortality (8 percent vs. 4 percent), or length of hospital stay. Patients with Stage IV disease had largertumors (5.4 ± 2.3 cm vs. 4.6 ± 2.6 cm, P = 0.04) which contributed to an increased rate of conversion (22 percent vs. 11 percent, P = 0.05) with most conversions secondary to tumor fixation or bulk (64 percent) preventing determination of resectability. CONCLUSIONS: