Background: In about 10 % of all patients with colorectal cancer, the primary invention already discloses adhesions or infiltration of adjacent organs. En bloc resection of the tumor-bearing bowel segment with adjacent organs is done to give patients a chance for curation, since intraoperative differentiation is not possible. The aim of this study is characterization of the patient population as well as evaluation of the morbidity and mortality associated with this type of extensive intervention.
Method: Between 1/95 and 6/04, we analyzed all patients with progressive primary colorectal cancer, who underwent multivisceral surgery with en bloc resection of at least one other organ. The target parameters were tumor characteristics as well as postoperative morbidity and mortality.
Results: A total of 1 001 patients with colorectal cancer underwent surgery. 101 patients (10 %) required multivisceral resection. In 17 % the indication was exigent. About 70 % of the interventions involved the colon. Tumor perforation was seen in 17 % of patients with colon cancer and 16 % with rectal cancer. Resection of the inner genitals was most frequent in both colon and rectal cancer (26 and 84 %) followed by small bowel resection (21 %) and partial bladder resection (19 %). Other organs play a secondary role in rectal cancer while partial bladder resection (20 %) and abdominal wall resection (14 %) is observed more frequently in colon cancer. Resection of parenchymatous organs (kidney, suprarenal gland, spleen, pancreas, liver) and others like the stomach is quite rare in colon cancer. Actual tumor infiltration (T4 situation) was observed in 51 % of patients with colon cancer and in 64 % of those with rectal cancer. Local R0 resection (97 vs. 96 %) was successfully performed in nearly all colon and rectal cancer patients. The surgical major complication rate was 9 % in colon cancer and 19 % in rectal cancer. The mortality rate was 4 %.
Conclusion: Multivisceral en-bloc resection enables local R0 resection in the majority of cases with primary colorectal cancer. Despite sometimes extensive surgery, this type of procedure is associated with an acceptable morbidity and mortality. Since long-term survival is comparable to that in the T category (T3 or T4), multivisceral en-bloc resection is not only justified but also absolutely required in interventions with curative intention.