Resection Margin of Transverse Colon Cancer With Extracorporeal Versus Intracorporeal Anastomosis

The approach of anastomosis in laparoscopic resection of transverse colon cancer (TCC) has rarely been discussed. This study aims to compare the resection margin of TCC with extracorporeal anastomosis (ECA) versus intracorporeal anastomosis (ICA). Patients who underwent laparoscopic resection of TCC from August 2019 to July 2021 in 13 participating centers are included in this study. According to the approach of anastomosis, patients are divided into two groups, ECA group and ICA group respectively. The clinical characteristics, the perioperative outcomes and the pathological results (especially the length of resection margin) are compared between the two groups. The length of two-sided resection margins (long margin, short margin) are measured on formalin-fixed specimens and those with short margin less than 4.0 cm are defined as unqualified specimens.