Objective To summarize the application of different types of perineal and vaginal reconstruction after posterior exenteration with resection of distal vagina and perineal body for patients with primary or recurrent advanced rectal cancer with distal vagina or perineal body invasion， and to review the advantages and shortages and the application range of common reconstructive surgical procedures. Method The clinical data of 10 rectal cancer patients underwent extended surgery with distal vagina and perineal body resection accompanied with or without hysterectomy from October 2009 to September 2013 were summarized. Results There was no perioperative mortality. Omental flaps were used for obliteration of pelvic defect in 4 patients. The uterus was pushed backward to fill the pelvic defect after severing the round ligament in 2 patients. A reversed pedicled sigmoid flap was employed for reconstruction of the vagina in 2 patients. The reversed flap of anterior vaginal wall was used for vaginal and perineal reconstruction in 3 patients. Three cases had postoperative complications， in which included 1 patient with pelvic sepsis who underwent reoperation for drainage， 2 patients with perineal wound infection. All other patients had an uneventful healing postoperatively. Conclusions Some types of one-stage pelvic and perineal-vaginal reconstruction after posterior exenteration with resection of distal vagina and perineal body could produce an expedited wound healing with acceptable morbidity. Despite the well documented pedicled musculocutaneous flap for reconstruction， omental flap， pedicled sigmoid flap， overturn of anterior vaginal wall for reconstruction and pushing-back of the uterus for filling pelvic cavity might also result in reduced pelvic and perineal associated complications. Pedicled musculocutaneous flap is better reserved for huge pelvic and perineal defect and should be recommended among Chinese surgeons.
ObjectiveTo analyze the impact of the residence of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) on surgical characteristics in the current version Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA). MethodsAccording to the established screening conditions, the patients with CRC were collected from the updated version of DACCA on January 23, 2023. The analysis indicators enrolled in this study included: the grouping indicator was residence, the surgical characteristic indicators included the surgical timing, surgical nature, expanded resection, intersphincteric resection (ISR) type, patient’s willingness of preserving the anus, and whether preserving the anus. The patients were categorized into three groups based on the residence: inside Chengdu City, outside Chengdu City within Sichuan Province, and outside Sichuan Province. The surgical characteristic indicators of patients with CRC from different residences were comparatively analyzed. ResultsA total of 6 832 analyzable data rows were enrolled. The results of statistical analysis revealed the following findings: there were no statistical differences in the surgery timing and surgery nature among the patients with colon cancer or rectal cancer from the different residences (Surgery timing: H=1.665, P=0.435; H=4.153, P=0.125. Surgery nature: χ2=1.586, P=0.453; χ2=0.990, P=0.610); For the patients with rectal cancer from the different residences, the distributions of the ISR type (H=0.514, P=0.773), patients’ willingness of preserving the anus (χ2=1.437, P=0.487), and whether preserving the anus (χ2=5.513, P=0.064) had no statistical differences. In addition, although there was no statistical difference in the distribution of expanded resection or not among the patients with rectal cancer in different residences (χ2=2.363, P=0.307), it was found that there was statistical difference in the distribution of enlarged resection or not among the patients with colon cancer in different residences (χ2=17.324, P＜0.001). ConclusionsFrom the data analysis in DACCA, there are not statistical differences in surgical characteristic indicators such as surgical timing, surgical nature, ISR type, patients’ willingness of preserving the anus, and whether preserving the anus among patients with colon or rectal cancer from different residences. However, the proportion of underwent expanded surgery in the colon cancer patients who from outside Sichuan Province as compared with inside Sichuan Province is relatively higher, this suggests that surgical difficulty is more difficult for the patients from outside Sichuan Province.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relation between educational level of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and decision-making and curative effect of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in the current version of the Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA). MethodsThe eligible CRC patients were collected from June 29, 2022 updated DACCA according to the screening criteria and were assigned into 4 groups according to their educational level, namely, uneducated, primary educated, secondary educated, and tertiary educated. The differences in NAT decision-making, cancer marker change, symptomatic change, gross change, imaging change, and tumor regression grade (TRG) among the CRC patients with different educational levels were compared. ResultsA total of 2 816 data that met the screening criteria were collected, 138 of whom were uneducated, 777 of whom were primary educated, 1 414 of whom were secondary educated, and 487 of whom were tertiary educated. The analysis results revealed that the difference in the composition ratio of patients choosing NAT regimens by educational level was statistically significant (χ2=30.937, P<0.001), which was reflected that the composition ratio of choosing a simple chemotherapy regimen in the uneducated CRC patients was highest, while which of choosing combined targeted therapy regimen in the tertiary educated CRC patients was highest. In terms of treatment outcomes, the composition ratios of changes in cancer markers (H=4.795, P=0.187), symptoms (H=1.722, P=0.632), gross (H=2.524, P=0.471), imaging (H=2.843, P=0.416), and TRG (H=2.346, P=0.504) had no statistical differences. ConclusionsThrough data analysis in DACCA, it is found that the educational level of patients with CRC can affect the choice of NAT scheme. However, it is not found that the educational level is related to the changes in the curative effect of patients with CRC before and after NAT, and further analysis is needed to determine the reasons for this.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relation between preoperative staging and surgical decision-making in rectal cancer patients from the West China Colorectal Cancer Database (DACCA) and to identify key factors influencing the selection of surgical approach. MethodsBased on the updated DACCA dataset as of April 24, 2024, the patients with rectal cancer were included. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between preoperative staging [(y)cTNM stage] and the selection of sphincter-preserving surgery or intersphincteric resection (ISR). Additional factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), tumor location, and nutritional score, were assessed for their impact on surgical choices. ResultsA total of 2 733 rectal cancer patients were included. Preoperative (y)cTNM staging distribution was as follows: 23 (0.8%) at stage 0, 388 (14.2%) at stage Ⅰ, 760 (27.8%) at stage Ⅱ, 873 (31.9%) at stage Ⅲ, and 689 (25.2%) at stage Ⅳ. The preoperative stage Ⅱ–Ⅳ were the independent risk factors for both the choices of sphincter-preserving surgery and ISR [stage Ⅱ: sphincter-preserving surgery: OR(95%CI)=13.634 (4.952, 37.540), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=3.097 (2.108, 4.551), P<0.001. stage Ⅲ: sphincter-preserving surgery: OR (95%CI)=14.677 (5.339, 40.345), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=2.985 (2.042, 4.363), P<0.001. stage Ⅳ: OR (95%CI)=25.653 (9.320, 70.610), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=4.445 (3.015, 6.555), P<0.001]. The low/ultra-low tumor location was an independent risk factor for choice of sphincter-preserving surgery [OR (95%CI)=2.038 (1.489, 2.791), P<0.001], but which was an independent protective factor for the choice of ISR [OR (95%CI)=0.013 (0.009, 0.019), P<0.001]. ConclusionsResults of this study are consistent with clinical practice, indicating that preoperative staging is the core basis for surgical decision-making in rectal cancer. With the progression of staging, patients are more inclined to choose non-sphincter-preserving and non-ISR procedures. Although low/ultralow tumors pose great challenges for anal preservation, the proportion of ISR selection remains relatively high. The anatomical location of the tumor and nutritional status also significantly affect surgical selection, necessitating comprehensive preoperative evaluation.
Rectal tumor surgery is currently at a critical stage of transformation from “organ resection” to “precision intervention”. Total mesorectal excision has significantly improved the local control of rectal cancer; however, defecatory, urinary, and sexual dysfunction, as well as low anterior resection syndrome after radical surgery, still profoundly affect patients’ long-term quality of life. With the development of early screening, precision imaging, total neoadjuvant therapy, immunotherapy, and organ preservation concepts, an increasing number of rectal lesions exhibit the characteristics of “being amenable to local intervention, requiring functional protection, and yet not compromising oncological safety”. Based on previous literature reports and our team’s practice, this article proposes the concept of a transanal minimally invasive surgery system: utilizing the transanal approach as a common pathway, and based on whether it relies on a transanal endoscopic platform, whether it involves direct-vision intersphincteric operation, and whether it requires extended mesorectal excision and reconstruction, the related procedures are classified into transanal minimally invasive surgery under transanal endoscopy, transanal intersphincteric resection, extended transanal minimally invasive surgery formed by combining the two, and transanal partial mesorectal excision. This system helps to integrate endoscopic therapy, transanal endoscopic local excision, direct-vision transanal intersphincteric resection, robot-assisted transanal surgery, and complex luminal reconstruction into the same decision-making framework, thereby more clearly defining the resection depth, operational boundaries, and reconstruction strategies for different lesions. Simultaneously, this article fully incorporates the concept of integrated minimally invasive approaches, interpreting transanal minimally invasive surgery as a multidimensional injury control and response-guided decision-making tool, rather than simply comparing incision size or the superiority and inferiority of technical platforms. Herein, the value of local excision can be summarized as resecting suspicious residual lesions under limited trauma and obtaining complete pathological information, thereby accomplishing risk re-stratification within the organ preservation strategy. On this basis, this article further emphasizes that local excision should not be positioned merely as a passive salvage option after neoadjuvant therapy or as a substitute for the watch-and-wait strategy following clinical complete response/near complete response. Instead, it can be shifted forward into the comprehensive treatment decision-making chain to become a key node for efficacy verification, pathological re-stratification, and determining whether to proceed with radical surgery; meanwhile, classic radical surgery should serve as the ultimate curative measure for situations such as high pathological risk, insufficient treatment response, local regrowth, and failure of salvage pathways after local excision.
Against the backdrop of medical digital transformation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University has conducted a 30-year exploration and practice of colorectal cancer data engineering. This study focuses on the integration of special disease digitization and value-based healthcare, achieving standardized management and in-depth mining of colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment data through constructing a full-life cycle data governance system, multi-center data platform, and intelligent application scenarios (such as clinical decision support systems). The practical results show that this data engineering has formed a specialized disease database containing more than 9 500 cases of structured data, and promoted the collaborative development of the entire chain of “production–study–research–business–government”, providing a learnable digital paradigm for improving diagnostic and treatment accuracy and optimizing medical resource allocation. The study indicates that special disease digitization is a key path to achieving value-based healthcare, and its experience in data standardization and medical-engineering cross-innovation is of reference significance for other disease fields.