Postponing surgery to optimise patients with acute right-sided obstructing colon cancer - A pilot study

Background: Right-sided obstructing colon cancer is most often treated with acute resection. Recent studies on right-sided obstructing colon cancer report higher mortality and morbidity rates than those in patients without obstruction. The aim of this study is to retrospectively analyse whether it is possible to optimise the health condition of patients with acute right-sided obstructing colon cancer, prior to surgery, and whether this improves postoperative outcomes. Method: All consecutive patients with high suspicion of, or histologically proven, right-sided obstructing colon cancer, treated with curative intent between March 2013 and December 2019, were analysed retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups: optimised group and non-optimised group. Pre-operative optimisation included additional nutrition, physiotherapy, and, if needed, bowel decompression. Results: In total, 54 patients were analysed in this study. Twenty-four patients received optimisation before elective surgery, and thirty patients received emergency surgery, without optimisation. Scheduled surgery was performed after a median of eight days (IQR 7–12). Postoperative complications were found in twelve (50%) patients in the optimised group, compared to twenty-three (77%) patients in the non-optimised group (p = 0.051). Major complications were diagnosed in three (13%) patients with optimisation, compared to ten (33%) patients without optimisation (p = 0.111). Postoperative in-hospital stay, 30-day mortality, as well as primary anastomosis were comparable in both groups. Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that pre-operative optimisation of patients with obstructing right sided colonic cancer may be feasible and safe but is associated with longer in-patient stay.</p

Surgical treatment and overall survival in patients with right-sided obstructing colon cancer—a nationwide retrospective cohort study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare baseline characteristics, 90-day mortality and overall survival (OS) between patients with obstructing and non-obstructing right-sided colon cancer at a national level. Methods: All patients who underwent resection for right-sided colon cancer between January 2015 and December 2016 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and stratified for obstruction. Primary outcome was 5-year OS after excluding 90-day mortality as assessed by the Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox regression analysis. Results: A total of 525 patients (7%) with obstructing and 6891 patients (93%) with non-obstructing right-sided colon cancer were included. Patients with right-sided obstructing colon cancer (OCC) were older and had more often transverse tumour location, and the pathological T and N stage was more advanced than in those without obstruction (p &lt; 0.001). The 90-day mortality in patients with right-sided OCC was higher compared to that in patients with non-obstructing colon cancer: 10% versus 3%, respectively (p &lt; 0.001). The 5-year OS of those surviving 90 days postoperatively was 42% in patients with OCC versus 73% in patients with non-obstructing colon cancer, respectively (p &lt; 0.001). Worse 5-year OS was found in patients with right-sided OCC for all stages. Obstruction was an independent risk factor for decreased OS in right-sided colon cancer (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.57–2.03).Conclusion: In addition to increased risk of postoperative mortality, a stage-independent worse 5-year OS after excluding 90-day mortality was found in patients with right-sided OCC compared to patients without obstruction.</p

Patient-led home-based follow-up after surgery for colorectal cancer:the protocol of the prospective, multicentre FUTURE-primary implementation study

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer in the Netherlands. Approximately 90% of patients can be treated with surgery, which is considered potentially curative. Postoperative surveillance during the first 5 years after surgery pursues to detect metastases in an early, asymptomatic and treatable stage. Multiple large randomised controlled trials have failed to show any (cancer-specific) survival benefit of intensive postoperative surveillance compared with a minimalistic approach in patients with CRC. This raises the question whether an (intensive) in-hospital postoperative surveillance strategy is still warranted from both a patient well-being and societal perspective. A more modern, home-based surveillance strategy could be beneficial in terms of patients' quality of life and healthcare costs. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The multicentre, prospective FUTURE-primary study implements a patient-led home-based surveillance after curative CRC treatment. Here, patients are involved in the choice regarding three fundamental aspects of their postoperative surveillance. First regarding frequency, patients can opt for additional follow-up moments to the minimal requirement as outlined by the current Dutch national guidelines. Second regarding the setting, both in-hospital or predominantly home-based options are available. And third, concerning patient-doctor communication choices ranging from in-person to video chat, and even silent check-ups. The aim of the FUTURE-primary study is to evaluate if such a patient-led home-based follow-up approach is successful in terms of quality of life, satisfaction and anxiety compared with historic data. A successful implementation of the patient-led aspect will be assessed by the degree in which the additional, optional follow-up moments are actually utilised. Secondary objectives are to evaluate quality of life, anxiety, fear of cancer recurrence and cost-effectiveness. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was given by the Medical Ethics Review Committee of Erasmus Medical Centre, The Netherlands (2021-0499). Results will be presented in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05656326.</p

Impact of complications after resection of pancreatic cancer on disease recurrence and survival, and mediation effect of adjuvant chemotherapy:nationwide, observational cohort study

Background: The causal pathway between complications after pancreatic cancer resection and impaired long-term survival remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of complications after pancreatic cancer resection on disease-free interval and overall survival, with adjuvant chemotherapy as a mediator.Methods: This observational study included all patients undergoing pancreatic cancer resection in the Netherlands (2014-2017). Clinical data were extracted from the prospective Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit. Recurrence and survival data were collected additionally. In causal mediation analysis, direct and indirect effect estimates via adjuvant chemotherapy were calculated.Results: In total, 1071 patients were included. Major complications (hazards ratio 1.22 (95 per cent c.i. 1.04 to 1.43); P = 0.015 and hazards ratio 1.25 (95 per cent c.i. 1.08 to 1.46); P = 0.003) and organ failure (hazards ratio 1.86 (95 per cent c.i. 1.32 to 2.62); P &lt; 0.001 and hazards ratio 1.89 (95 per cent c.i. 1.36 to 2.63); P &lt; 0.001) were associated with shorter disease-free interval and overall survival respectively. The effects of major complications and organ failure on disease-free interval (-1.71 (95 per cent c.i. -2.27 to -1.05) and -3.05 (95 per cent c.i. -4.03 to -1.80) respectively) and overall survival (-1.92 (95 per cent c.i. -2.60 to -1.16) and -3.49 (95 per cent c.i. -4.84 to -2.03) respectively) were mediated by adjuvant chemotherapy. Additionally, organ failure directly affected disease-free interval (-5.38 (95 per cent c.i. -9.27 to -1.94)) and overall survival (-6.32 (95 per cent c.i. -10.43 to -1.99)). In subgroup analyses, the association was found in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy, but not in patients undergoing distal pancreatectomy.Conclusion: Major complications, including organ failure, negatively impact survival in patients after pancreatic cancer resection, largely mediated by adjuvant chemotherapy. Prevention or adequate treatment of complications and use of neoadjuvant treatment may improve oncological outcomes.</p

Predicting Long-term Disease-free Survival after Resection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma:A Nationwide Cohort Study

Objective: To develop a prediction model for long-term (≥5 years) disease-free survival (DFS) after the resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Background: Despite high recurrence rates, 10% of patients have long-term DFS after PDAC resection. A model to predict long-term DFS may aid individualized prognostication and shared decision-making. Methods: This nationwide cohort study included all consecutive patients who underwent PDAC resection in the Netherlands (2014-2016). The best-performing prognostic model was selected by Cox-proportional hazard analysis and Akaike's Information Criterion, presented by hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Internal validation was performed, and discrimination and calibration indices were assessed. Results: In all, 836 patients with a median follow-up of 67 months (interquartile range 51-79) were analyzed. Long-term DFS was seen in 118 patients (14%). Factors predictive of long-term DFS were low preoperative carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (logarithmic; HR 1.21; 95% CI 1.10-1.32), no vascular resection (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.12-1.58), T1 or T2 tumor stage (HR 1.52; 95% CI 1.14-2.04, and HR 1.17; 95% CI 0.98-1.39, respectively), well/moderate tumor differentiation (HR 1.44; 95% CI 1.22-1.68), absence of perineural and lymphovascular invasion (HR 1.42; 95% CI 1.11-1.81 and HR 1.14; 95% CI 0.96-1.36, respectively), N0 or N1 nodal status (HR 1.92; 95% CI 1.54-2.40, and HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.11-1.60, respectively), R0 resection margin status (HR 1.25; 95% CI 1.07-1.46), no major complications (HR 1.14; 95% CI 0.97-1.35) and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 1.74; 95% CI 1.47-2.06). Moderate performance (concordance index 0.68) with adequate calibration (slope 0.99) was achieved. Conclusions: The developed prediction model, readily available at www.pancreascalculator.com, can be used to estimate the probability of long-term DFS after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.</p