title: No-touch isolation technique in colon cancer: a controlled prospective trial.
abstract: In order to assess the effect of the no-touch isolation technique, in the treatment of large bowel cancers, on the site of first recurrence and disease-free and overall survival, 236 patients were prospectively and randomly assigned to either the no-touch isolation technique (117 patients) or to a conventional resection technique (119 patients). No patient with distant metastases or unresectable disease entered the study. The two treatment groups were comparable with regard to patient characteristics. Pre- and postoperative complications (including mortality within 30 days) were similar in both groups. After a complete follow-up of 5 years, a tendency for reduction in the number of, and time to, occurrences of liver metastases was seen in the no-touch isolation group (P = 0.14). This effect was most obvious in the sigmoid colon with angio-invasive growth. Overall (P = 0.42) and corrected (P = 0.25) survival did not differ significantly among the treatment groups although in every analysis the survival data of the no-touch isolation group were superior. The data do suggest a limited benefit of the no-touch isolation technique. This observation is important since the morbidity and mortality of surgery were equal in both groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wiggers
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeekel
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Arends
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Brinkhorst
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kluck
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Luyk
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Munting
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Povel
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Rutten
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volovics
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies