Survival following extended operations for extracolonic invasion by colon cancer
T. P. McGlone, W. A. Bernie and D. W. Elliott
Of 460 cases of colon cancer treated between 1972 and 1976, 24 were
unusual. These patients required en bloc resection of the colon with one or
more adjacent organs for dense adhesions between the colon and these
organs. In 66% of the cases these adhesions represented microscopic tumor
invasion. Lymph nodes were positive for disease, stage C-3, in only four
specimens. The pathologic features of the tumor were well differentiated in
87%. The operative mortality was 8% and two patients died of recurrent
disease one and three years postoperatively. One man is alive seven years
postoperatively with recurrent disease. Nineteen patients (79%) are alive
five to nine years following surgery with no evidence of disease. A
comparison with patients with similarly staged Dukes' B and C disease shows
a substantially improved survival at five years when extended operation is
performed.
