Correction to: Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Right Colectomy with Complete Mesocolic Excision for the Treatment of Colon Cancer: Perioperative Outcomes and 5-Year Survival in a Consecutive Series of 202 Patients

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Primary Tumor Resection for Metastatic Colorectal, Gastric and Pancreatic Cancer Patients: In Search of Scientific Evidence to Inform Clinical Practice

The management of the primary tumor in metastatic colorectal, gastric and pancreatic cancer patients may be challenging. Indeed, primary tumor progression could be associated with severe symptoms, compromising the quality of life and the feasibility of effective systemic therapy, and might result in life-threatening complications. While retrospective series have suggested that surgery on the primary tumor may confer a survival advantage even in asymptomatic patients, randomized trials seem not to definitively support this hypothesis. We discuss the evidence for and against primary tumor resection for patients with metastatic gastrointestinal (colorectal, gastric and pancreatic) cancers treated with systemic therapies and put in context the pros and cons of the onco-surgical approach in the time of precision oncology. We also evaluate current ongoing trials on this topic, anticipating how these will influence both research and everyday practice

Standardized Liver Volumetry for Portal Vein Embolization

Major and extended hepatic resections are being performed with increasing frequency as morbidity and mortality rates after major hepatectomies have declined and definitions of resectability have expanded for primary and metastatic hepatic malignancies. Systematic assessment of the anticipated functional remnant liver is essential before major hepatic resection to avoid postoperative hepatic insufficiency and its attendant sequelae. The volume of the future liver remnant (FLR) correlates with FLR function and postoperative outcome. This article describes the rationale for FLR measurement, methods of measuring FLR volume, and standardization to the total estimated liver volume. The indications for portal vein embolization based on standardized liver volumetry are summarized

ICG-Guided Lymphadenectomy during Surgery for Colon and Rectal Cancer—Interim Analysis of the GREENLIGHT Trial

Lymphadenectomy is crucial for an optimal oncologic resection of colon and rectal cancers. However, without a direct visualization, an aberrant route of lymph node (LN) diffusion might remain unresected. Indocyanine-green (ICG) lymphatic mapping permits a real-time LNs visualization. We designed the GREENLIGHT trial to explore in 100 patients undergoing robotic colorectal resection the clinical significance of a D3 ICG-guided lymphadenectomy. The primary endpoint was the number of patients in whom ICG changed the extent of lymphadenectomy. We report herein the interim analysis on the first 70 patients. After endoscopic ICG injection 24 h (n = 49) or 72 h (n = 21) ahead, 19, 20, and 31 patients underwent right colectomy, left colectomy, and anterior rectal resection. The extent of lymphadenectomy changed in 35 (50%) patients, mostly (29 (41.4%)) for the identification of LNs (median two) outside the standard draining basin. Identification of such LNs was less frequent in rectal tumors that had undergone chemoradiotherapy (26.3%) (p > 0.05). A non-significant correlation between time-to-ICG injection and identification of aberrant LNs was observed (48.9% at 24 h vs. 23.8% at 72 h). The presence of LN metastases did not affect a proper fluorescent mapping. These data indicate that ICG lymphatic mapping provides relevant information in 50% of patients, thus increasing the accuracy of potentially curative resections

Current Status on Cholangiocarcinoma and Gallbladder Cancer

Cholangiocarcinomas (CC) as well as gallbladder cancers are relatively rare and intractable diseases. Clinical, pathological, and epidemiological studies on these tumors have been under investigation. The current status and/or topics on biliary tract cancers have been reported in the East West Association of Liver Tumor (EWALT), held in Milano, Italy in 2015