Segmental or right hemi-colectomy? The optimal surgical procedure for transverse colon cancer: a propensity score-matched, multicenter, retrospective study.

PURPOSE: Extended colectomy is sometimes chosen for treatment of transverse colon cancer (TCC) because of concerns about short- and long-term outcomes. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the optimal surgical procedure.

METHODS: We retrospectively collected and analyzed data of patients who underwent surgical treatment of pathological stage II/III TCC at four hospitals from January 2011 to June 2019. We excluded the patients with TCC located at distal transverse colon, and just evaluated and analyzed proximal and middle third TCC. Inverse probability treatment-weighted propensity score analyses was used to compare short- and long-term outcomes between patients who underwent segmental transverse colectomy (STC) and those who underwent right hemicolectomy (RHC).

RESULTS: In total, 106 patients were enrolled in this study (STC group, n = 45; RHC group, n = 61). The patients' backgrounds were well balanced after matching. The incidence of major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III) was not significantly different between the STC and RHC groups (4.5% vs. 5.6%, respectively; P = 0.53). The 3-year recurrence-free survival and overall survival rates were not significantly different between the STC and RHC groups (88.2% vs. 81.8%, P = 0.86 and 90.3% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.79, respectively).

CONCLUSION: RHC has no significant benefits over STC with respect to either short- or long-term outcomes. STC with necessary lymphadenectomy could be an optimal procedure for proximal and middle TCC.