Segmental versus extended colectomy for colorectal cancer in patients with lynch syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The decision to perform segmental or extended colectomy in Lynch syndrome (LS) patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is still controversial. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide updated evidence for segmental versus extended colectomy in LS carriers with CRC.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for studies published until January 2024 comparing segmental and extended colectomies for CRC in patients with LS. Risk ratio (RR) was used to evaluate binary endpoints with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed with the Cochran's Q test and I² statistics. Statistical analysis was performed using the R Software, version 4.2.3.

Results: A total of 14 studies comprising 2303 LS carriers with CRC, of whom 1724 (74.9%) patients underwent segmental colectomy and 579 (25.1%) patients underwent extended colectomy. Segmental colectomy significantly increased metachronous CRC (mCRC) (RR 2.87; 95% CI 2.03-4.07; and p < 0.01). There were no significant differences between groups for 5-year overall survival (OS) (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.82-1.03; and p = 0.14), 10-year OS (RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.96-1.04; and p = 0.80), and mortality (RR 1.63; 95% CI 0.90-2.97; and p = 0.11). There were no significant linear associations between the outcome of mCRC and age at the time of primary CRC, sex, primary CRC location, and pathogenic LS variant.

Conclusion: In this meta-analysis, segmental colectomy significantly increased mCRC compared with extended colectomy after the first surgery for CRC in patients with LS. However, there were no significant differences between groups for 5- and 10-year OS and mortality.