Abstract:

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of surgical margin positivity on short- and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing recurrent colorectal cancer surgery. Method: Demographics, parameters related to primary tumor and previous surgery, recurrent tumor characteristics and perioperative features and long-term outcomes were compared between groups (R0 vs. R1) according to surgical margin positivity. Results: Of 57 patients who underwent surgery for recurrent colorectal cancer, 49 patients (86%) in whom curative resection was achieved were included in the study. Eleven (22.4%) cases had surgical margin positivity (R1) on pathological examination. Demographics, primary tumor localization, tumor stage, time to recurrence, adjuvant oncological treatments were comparable between R0 and R1 groups. Although the surgical procedures performed differed according to the location of the recurrent lesion, they were proportionally similar between the groups. The operative time, the amount of intraoperative bleeding, the need for transfusion, and the length of hospital stay were similar (p>0.05 for each variable). There were 17 (44.7%) and four (36.4%) postoperative complications in the R0 and R1 groups, respectively, but no difference was observed between the groups. Regional recurrence rate was 18.9% (n=7) in R0 group and 27.3% (n=3) in R1 group, respectively (p=0.675). Overall survival rates of R0 and R1 patients at 1, 3 and 5 years were 78.4% vs. 81.8%, (p=0.754), 43.2% vs. 36.4%, (p=0.720) and 27.0% vs. 27.3% (p=0.866), respectively. Conclusion: Complications are higher after recurrent colorectal cancer surgery. This study emphasizes that microscopic surgical margin positivity (R1) may not adversely affect short- and long-term outcomes in patients operated for recurrent colorectal cancer, and that local recurrence rates of these cases may be similar to those with complete resection (R0).

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