Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of preserving the left colic artery in laparoscopic resection for rectal cancer: A meta-analysis.

The aim of the present meta-analysis compared left colic artery (LCA) preservation with non-preservation in laparoscopic resection of rectal cancer in terms of feasibility, efficacy and safety. The PubMed, Ovid, Embase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data databases were searched prior to June 2017 for studies comparing LCA preservation and non-preservation in laparoscopic resection for rectal cancer. Two researchers screened the literature independently, extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias.