Multicenter analysis of long-Term oncologic impact of anastomotic leakage after laparoscopic total mesorectal excision: The Korean laparoscopic colorectal surgery study group

This study aims to validate the oncologic outcomes of anastomotic leakage (AL) after laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) in a large multicenter cohort. The impact of AL after laparoscopic TME for rectal cancer surgery has not yet been clearly described. This was a multicenter retrospective study of 1083 patients who underwent laparoscopic TME for nonmetastatic rectal cancer (stage 0-III). AL was defined as an anastomotic complication within 30 days of surgery irrespective of requiring a reoperation or interventional radiology. Estimated local recurrence (LR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between the leakage group and the no leakage group using the log-rank method. Multivariate Cox-regression analysis was used to adjust confounding for survival. The incidence of AL was 6.4%. Mortality within 30 days of surgery occurred in 1 patient (1.4%) in the leakage group and 2 patients (0.2%) in the no leakage group. The leakage group showed a higher LR rate (6.4% vs 1.8%, P=0.011). Five-year DFS and OS were significantly lower in the leakage group than the no leakage group (DFS 71.7% vs 82.1%, P=0.016, OS 81.8% vs 93.5%, P=0.007). Multivariate analysis showed that AL was an independent poor prognostic factor for DFS and OS (hazard ratio [HR]=1.6; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.0-2.6; P=0.042, HR=2.1; 95% CI: 1.0-4.2; P=0.028, respectively). AL after laparoscopic TME was significantly associated with an increased rate of LR, systemic recurrence and poor OS.