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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2015; 21(1): 132-138
Published online Jan 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i1.132
Extent of surgery in cancer of the colon: Is more better?
Wouter Willaert, Wim Ceelen
Wouter Willaert, Wim Ceelen, Department of Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Author contributions: Willaert W performed the literature search and co-authored the paper; Ceelen W designed the topic, co-authored the paper and approved the final version.
Supported by The Fund for Scientific Research - Flanders (FWO) to Ceelen W (Senior Clinical Researcher)
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Wim Ceelen, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. wim.ceelen@ugent.be
Telephone: +32-9-3326251 Fax: +32-9-3323891
Received: July 1, 2014
Peer-review started: July 2, 2014
First decision: August 6, 2014
Revised: August 14, 2014
Accepted: November 7, 2014
Article in press: November 11, 2014
Published online: January 7, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: The extent of surgery in cancer of the colon is a matter of debate. Proponents of complete mesocolic excision (CME) argue that more extensive en bloc removal of the lymph node harboring mesentery may improve recurrence free survival. Here, we critically review the relevant clinical data and colorectal cancer biology and conclude that at present, routine implementation of a more extensive resection such as CME is unjustified outside the setting of controlled clinical trials.