Less-invasive approach safe for colon cancer: study

A less-invasive "keyhole" surgery can be as effective as conventional surgery for some people with colon cancer, according to a new Canadian-led study.

In the keyhole or laparoscopic approach, a surgeon makes a few small incisions in the abdomen instead of one large one. Doctors insert a tiny camera and surgical instruments through the "keyhole."

For years, doctors have debated whether keyhole surgery is safe for colon cancer. There were concerns it might increase the chance of tumours recurring.

Now Dr. Jaap Bonjer of Dalhousie University in Halifax and colleagues have compared the two surgeries head to head in over 1,200 people in Europe. Half the participants were assigned to each approach.

The team found the advantages of keyhole surgery were:

• Less blood loss during surgery.
• Bowels resumed working sooner.
• Fewer painkillers were needed.
• Hospital stays were shorter.

On the downside, keyhole surgeries took longer to perform than open surgeries, Bonjer and his colleagues found.

Mortality and illness were the same between the two groups, the researchers report in the June 21 issue of the medical journal The Lancet Oncology.

They conclude keyhole surgery can be used safely for cancer in three parts of the colon, but more research is needed to find what procedure is likely best for each patient.

In 2005, an estimated 19,600 Canadians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 8,400 will die of it, making it the second leading cause of death from cancer, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.