Simultaneous versus staged resection of rectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases (RESECT)

BackgroundStaged resection is preferred to treat synchronous rectal cancer with liver metastases. Simultaneous resection of rectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases may potentially decrease postoperative complications, thereby improving quality of life, decreasing health care costs, and avoiding delays in postoperative chemotherapy administration. We evaluated the safety of simultaneous resection.MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, and PubMed for studies comparing simultaneous versus staged resection. Study selection, data abstraction, risk of bias (ROB), and quality of the evidence (QOE) assessment were performed in duplicate. The primary outcome was overall postoperative complications. The secondary outcome was postoperative complications in the intervention group. ROB and QOE were assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE).Results4456 abstracts were retrieved; 18 retrospective cohort studies reported postoperative complications in the intervention arm, with six comparing intervention (288 patients) to control (287 patients). The odds ratio (OR) for overall complications was 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–1.35, and for major complications was 0.77, 95%CI: 0.40–1.50. Proportion of complications (intervention arm): 41%, 95%CI: 33–50%. ROB was moderate.DiscussionSimultaneous resection of synchronous rectal cancer with liver metastases carries a similar risk of overall and major complications compared to the staged approach. However, QOE is very low and a simultaneous approach ought to be pursued only in selected patients until better evidence is available.