While laparoscopic assisted surgery has flourished in recent years, a key exception was in the treatment of colon cancer. Since patient outcomes across the country varied, a controlled study was needed to determine the advisability of laparoscopic surgical treatment of colon cancer and to establish guidelines for the application of this technology.

The results of a seven-year international study funded by the National Cancer Institute were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May of 2004. The study is the most comprehensive to date comparing laparoscopic colon surgery with the traditional procedure for colon cancer (called an open colectomy). It compared complications, recurrence, the amount of time patients were cancer-free, and overall survival.

This important study (referred to as the COST* Study) showed that laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer is equally as effective as the traditional, open procedure when performed by an experienced surgeon and the patient's cancer is confined to the colon. Laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer may be a consideration for as many as 70 percent of the approximately 100,000 Americans who undergo treatment for colon cancer every year.

Among the advantages of laparoscopic colon surgery for patients with colon cancer are:

• Smaller incisions
• Shorter hospitalization
• Reduced disruption of surrounding tissue
• Reduced discomfort
• Reduced need for pain medication postoperatively
• Reduced recovery time
• Less time away from usual activities
• No greater expense than open techniques

*Read the COST Study in the New England Journal of Medicine -- The Clinical Outcomes of Surgical Therapy Study Group. A comparison of laparoscopically assisted and open colectomy for colon cancer.

Read the position paper of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons on Laparosopic Colectomy for Curable Cancer (PDF)