title: Laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer: a clinical comparative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare short-term surgical outcomes and long-term survival following laparoscopic or open resection for rectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 381 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery and 276 undergoing open surgery for curative resection of rectal cancer were included. Long-term survival and peri- and postoperative data were retrospectively reviewed from a prospectively-collected database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Surgical groups were comparable regarding age, gender, tumour stage and preoperative comorbidities. Laparascopic surgery was associated with significantly longer duration of surgery, less intraoperative blood loss and fewer postoperative infections than open surgery. Patients who underwent laparoscopic resection had significantly earlier recovery of gastrointestinal function than those who underwent open surgery. There were no significant between-group differences in number of lymph nodes excised, specimen length or distal margin. The 3- and 5-year survival rates and overall survival were similar in the two groups, and survival was not influenced by tumour location.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Laparoscopic surgery can achieve the same oncological results as open resection in patients with rectal cancer, supporting its continued use in the management of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, Shaoxing People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome