Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2024 Dec 23;39(1):210.
doi: 10.1007/s00384-024-04763-z.

Short-term surgical outcomes of rectal adenocarcinoma surgical treatment in Latin America: a multicenter, retrospective assessment in 49 centers from 12 countries

LATAM collaborative colorectal surgery consortium; Marcelo Viola Malet  1
Collaborators, Affiliations
Observational Study

Short-term surgical outcomes of rectal adenocarcinoma surgical treatment in Latin America: a multicenter, retrospective assessment in 49 centers from 12 countries

LATAM collaborative colorectal surgery consortium et al. Int J Colorectal Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Rectal cancer is a prevalent disease that requires multidisciplinary management. Results of treatment of patients suffering from this malignancy in Latin America have been scarcely reported before.

Methods: A retrospective, multicenter study was conducted to report preoperative and operative characteristics of patients intervened for rectal cancer in centers from Latin America during 2015-2022, and the short-term results of treatment were analyzed. The study was open to any center receiving rectal cancer patients, irrespective of volume. The main study outcome was 30-day postoperative complications including any deviation from the normal postoperative course (Clavien Dindo I to V).

Results: A total of 2044 patients from 49 centers in 12 Latin American countries were included, with a mean age of 63 years. Twenty-five percent of patients were operated in low-volume centers. Twenty-nine percent of patients had a tumor located in the low rectum, and only 53% of patients had preoperative MRI for local staging. A total of 1052 patients (52%) received neoadjuvant therapy before surgery. Eighty-six percent of patients were operated by a specialized colorectal surgeon, and 31% of patients were intervened using a conventional approach. A total of 29.9% of patients presented a postoperative complication. The anastomotic leak rate was 8.9%. Fifty-eight percent of pathology reports had less than 12 lymph nodes harvested, and 22.9% of reports did not include mesorectal quality. In the multivariate analysis, neoadjuvant therapy (OR: 1.44, p-value: 0.023), urgent procedures (OR: 3.73, p-value: 0.049), intraoperative complications (OR: 2.21, p-value: 0.046), advanced tumors (OR: 1.39, p-value: 0.036), and prolonged surgery (OR: 1.74, p-value: 0.004) were found to be independently related to suffering postoperative complications.

Conclusions: This study includes information about the approach and results of rectal cancer management in Latin America at a large scale. In the future, this information can be used as a bridge to identify areas of improvement among rectal cancer patients' treatment in the region.

Keywords: Cancer; Latin America; Multidisciplinary; Neoadjuvant; Rectal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart showing the patient selection process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patients included per center and country. Each column represents one specific country from Latin America. The number above the columns defines the total number of patients included by each country
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I et al (2018) Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 68(6):394–424. 10.3322/caac.21492 - PubMed
    1. Kosinski L, Habr-Gama A, Ludwig K et al (2012) Shifting concepts in rectal cancer management: a review of contemporary primary rectal cancer treatment strategies. CA Cancer J Clin 62(3):173–202. 10.3322/caac.21138 - PubMed
    1. Khan SZ, Lengyel CG (2023) Challenges in the management of colorectal cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer Treat Res Commun 6(35):100705. 10.1016/j.ctarc.2023.100705 - PubMed
    1. Avellaneda N, Patron Uriburu JC, Viola Malet M et al (2023) Estado actual del abordaje de pacientes con cáncer de recto en Latinoamérica. Resultados de la encuesta Carela incluyendo 385 cirujanos de 18 países en la región. Rev Arg Coloproct 34(1):14–22. 10.46768/racp.v0i0.210
    1. Avellaneda N, Smart N (2023) Creating a collaborative network in a low/middle income country region. A practical (and motivational) guide to getting started. Colorectal Dis 25(1):6–8. 10.1111/codi.16479 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources