Laparoscopic versus open colectomy for locally advanced T4 colonic cancer. Meta-analysis of clinical and oncological outcomes

Background: The aim of this study was to review the early postoperative and oncological outcomes after laparoscopic colectomy for
T4 cancer compared with open surgery.
Method: MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for any relevant clinical study
comparing laparoscopic and open colectomy as treatment for T4 colonic cancer. The risk ratio (RR) with 95 per cent c.i. was
calculated for dichotomous variables, and the mean difference (m.d.) with 95 per cent confidence interval for continuous variables.
Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was implemented for assessing
quality of evidence (QoE).
Results: Twenty-four observational studies (21 retrospective and 3 prospective cohort studies) were included, analysing a total of
18 123 patients: 9024 received laparoscopic colectomy and 9099 underwent open surgery. Laparoscopic colectomy was associated with
lower rates of mortality (RR 0.48, 95 per cent c.i. 0.41 to 0.56; P,0.001; I2=0 per cent, fixed-effect model; QoE moderate) and
complications (RR 0.61, 0.49 to 0.76; P,0.001; I2=20 per cent, random-effects model; QoE very low) compared with an open
procedure. No differences in R0 resection rate (RR 1.01, 1.00 to 1.03; P=0.12; I2=37 per cent, random-effects model; QoE very low)
and recurrence rate (RR 0.98, 0.84 to 1.14; P=0.81; I2=0 per cent, fixed-effect model; QoE very low) were found.
Conclusion: Laparoscopic colectomy for T4 colonic cancer is safe, and is associated with better clinical outcomes than open surgery
and similar oncological outcomes.