Laparoscopic resection for rectal cancer is not supported by studies

Minimally invasive laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer does not provide better outcomes than open resection, two randomised controlled trials published in JAMA have found.

In the first study, conducted at 35 institutions in the United States and Canada, 462 patients with clinical stage II or III rectal cancer were randomly assigned to laparoscopic or open pelvic resection.1 Successful resection was defined by a number of measures including the completeness of the total mesorectal excision, uninvolved circumferential resection margin, and uninvolved distal resection margin.

Successful resection occurred in 82% of …