The Safety and Feasibility of Laparoscopic Surgery for Very Low Rectal Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis Based on a Single Center's Experience.

In this work we intend to validate the long-term oncologic outcomes for very low rectal cancer over the past 20 years and to determine whether laparoscopic procedures are useful options for very low rectal cancer. A total of 327 patients, who electively underwent laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery for a lesion within 5 cm from the anal verge, were enrolled in this study and their long-term outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. Of 327 patients, 70 patients underwent laparoscopic low anterior resection (LAR), 164 underwent laparoscopic abdominal transanal proctosigmoidocolectomy with coloanal anastomosis (LATA), and 93 underwent laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection (APR).

Comparison between preoperative and postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer: an institutional analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment outcomes of preoperative versus postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on locally advanced rectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Medical data of 114 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with CRT preoperatively (54 patients) or postoperatively (60 patients) from June 2003 to April 2011 was analyzed retrospectively. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) or a precursor of 5-FU-based concurrent CRT (median, 50.

Preoperative elevation of carcinoembryonic antigen predicts poor tumor response and frequent distant recurrence for patients with rectal cancer who receive preoperative chemoradiotherapy and total mesorectal excision: a multi-institutional analysis in an Asian population.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the significance of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level as a predictor for tumor response to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and a prognosticator for survival in Asian patients with advanced rectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 345 patients with primary rectal cancer who had undergone preoperative CRT and total mesorectal excision. We analyzed clinicopathological factors that could be associated with pathologically complete response (ypCR) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery for the treatment of well-differentiated rectal neuroendocrine tumors.

Purpose: Recently, an increase in well-differentiated rectal neuroendocrine tumors (WRNETs) has been noted. We aimed to evaluate transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) for the treatment of WRNETs.

Methods: Between December 1995 and August 2009, 109 patients with WRNETs underwent TEM.

Relationship between TYMS and ERCC1 mRNA expression and in vitro chemosensitivity in colorectal cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether the relative mRNA expressions of the thymidylate synthase (TYMS) and the excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) genes are associated with in vitro chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer, respectively.

Patients And Methods: This study included 67 patients with pathologic TNM stage II, III, and IV. TYMS and ERCC1 mRNA expression was determined using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).