Objective: To compare the postoperative function, the short-term and long-term outcomes between fascia-oriented and vascular-oriented lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) in patients with rectal cancer. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed. Clinical data of patients who received total mesorectal excision (TME) with LLND at National Cancer Center, Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Science from January 2014 to December 2019 were retrospectively collected. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) rectal cancer was pathologically diagnosed, and the lower margin was below the peritoneal reflection. (2) resectable advanced rectal cancer with suspected lateral lymph node metastasis was evaluated based on rectal MRI assessment. (3) preoperative MRI showed lateral lymph node short diameter ≥5 mm and/or lymph node morphology (spike, blur, irregular) as well as heterogenous signal intensity. Lymph node shrinkage was less than 60% after receiving neoadjuvant therapy based on the reassessment of rectal MRI. (4) TME+LLND surgery was performed synchronously. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) previous history of pelvic surgery; (2) preoperative cystitis, urethritis, moderate and severe prostatic hyperplasia and other diseases resulting in abnormal urination function; (3) preoperative sexual dysfunction or loss of function; (4) patients receiving LLND due to lateral recurrence after TME; (5) distant metastasis of the tumor at initial diagnosis; (6) Incomplete collection of clinical data. A total of 73 consecutive patients were enrolled in this study. Based on the surgical approaches in performing LLND, patients were divided into fascia-oriented group (n=30) and vascular-oriented group (n=43). There were no significant differences in baseline data between the two groups (all P>0.05). The main outcome indicators of this study were the incidence of postoperative urinary and male sexual dysfunction, the efficacy, the number of lateral lymph nodes harvested and the detection rate of positive lymph nodes. Overall survival (OS) rates and progression free survival (PFS) rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test. Results: All patients in both groups completed surgery successfully. There were no significant differences in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, and the length of hospital stay between the two groups (all P>0.05). In the whole group, the incidence of postoperative urinary dysfunction and male sexual dysfunction was 43.8% (32/73) and 62.5% (25/40), respectively. The median number of lateral lymph nodes harvested was 8.0(4.0,11.0) with a positive rate of 20.5%(15/73). Compared to the vascular-oriented group, the fascia-oriented group demonstrated a decreased rate of urinary dysfunction [26.7% (8/30) vs. 55.8% (24/43), χ(2)=6.098, P=0.014], lower rate of sexual dysfunction in males [6/15 vs. 76% (19/25), χ(2)=5.184, P=0.023], more harvested lateral lymph nodes [M (P25, P75): 9.5 (6.8, 15.3) vs. 6.0 (3.0, 9.0), Z=-2.849, P=0.004]. There was no significant difference in the positvie rate of lateral lymph nodes between the two groups [20% (6/30) versus 20.9% (9/43), χ(2)=0.009, P=0.923]. Three(4.1%) patients were lost during a median follow-up of 34 (1-66) months. The 3-year PFS and OS of the whole cohort were 69.5% and 88.3%, respectively. No significant difference in 3-year PFS rates (79.6% vs. 62.0%, P=0.172) and 3-year OS rates (91.2% vs. 85.9%, P=0.333) were observed between the fascia-oriented group and the vascular-oriented group (both P>0.05). Conclusion: Fascia-oriented LLND is associated with lower risk of postoperative urinary and male sexual dysfunction in patients with rectal carcinoma, and harvest of more lymph nodes, but no significant advantage in long-term survival.
目的： 探讨以筋膜导向与血管导向两种不同解剖入路方式行直肠癌侧方淋巴结清扫（LLND）对患者功能影响及其疗效（包括近、远期疗效）的差异。 方法： 采用回顾性队列研究方法，收集2014年1月至2019年12月期间在国家癌症中心暨中国医学科学院肿瘤医院行直肠癌全直肠系膜切除术（TME）+LLND手术患者的临床资料。病例纳入标准：（1）病理确诊为直肠癌，下切缘位于腹膜反折以下；（2）基于直肠核磁评估为可切除进展期直肠癌，怀疑侧方淋巴结转移；（3）治疗前核磁显示侧方淋巴结短径≥5 mm和（或）淋巴结形态（毛刺、模糊、不规则）以及信号不均匀改变，行新辅助治疗的患者在治疗后直肠核磁重新评估淋巴结退缩程度<60%；（4）同期行TME+LLND手术。病例排除标准：（1）既往有盆腔手术史；（2）术前有膀胱炎、尿道炎、中度及重度前列腺增生等致排尿功能异常的疾病；（3）术前性功能异常或缺失；（4）TME术后侧方淋巴结复发行LLND；（5）初诊时合并肿瘤远处转移；（6）临床数据资料收集不完全。共纳入73例患者，根据LLND解剖入路方式不同分为筋膜导向组（30例）及血管导向组（43例），两组患者基线资料比较，差异均无统计学意义（均P>0.05）。本研究主要观察指标为两组患者术后功能（包括泌尿、男性性功能障碍发生率）、近期疗效和远期疗效，并比较两组患者侧方淋巴结获取数量、阳性淋巴结检出率。采用Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线，并用Log-rank检验比较两组患者生存率的差异。 结果： 两组患者均顺利完成手术，手术时间、术中出血量、术后并发症发生率和术后住院时间差异无统计学意义（均P>0.05）。全组患者术后排尿功能障碍发生率43.8%（32/73），男性性功能障碍发生率62.5%（25/40），检出侧方淋巴结中位数8.0（4.0，11.0）枚，侧方淋巴结阳性率20.5%（15/73）。与血管导向组相比，筋膜导向组患者术后排尿功能障碍发生率更低[26.7%（8/30）比55.8%（24/43），χ(2)=6.098，P=0.014]、男性性功能障碍发生率更低[6/15比76.0%（19/25），χ(2)=5.184，P=0.023]、清扫淋巴结数目更多[M（P(25)，P(75)）：9.5（6.8，15.3）枚比6.0（3.0，9.0）枚，Z=-2.849，P=0.004]。筋膜导向组与血管导向组清扫出侧方淋巴结阳性率比较，组间差异无统计学意义[20.0%（6/30）比20.9%（9/43），χ(2)=0.009，P=0.923]。中位随访34（1~66）个月，共3例（4.1%)患者失访。全组患者的3年无进展生存率（PFS）和3年总体生存率（OS）分别为69.5%和88.3%。Log-rank检验结果显示，筋膜导向组与血管导向组患者的3年PFS（79.6%比62.0%，P=0.172）、3年OS（91.2%比85.9%，P=0.333）比较，差异均无统计学意义（均P>0.05）。 结论： 以筋膜导向行直肠癌LLND手术，与更低的患者术后排尿及男性生殖功能障碍风险，以及检获更多数量的淋巴结有关，但对改善患者远期生存未展现出明显优势。.
Keywords: Dysfunction; Fascia; Lateral lymph nodes dissection; Rectal neoplasms; Vessel.