-Review-

Recent Advances in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer: A Review

Seiichi Shinji, Takeshi Yamada, Akihisa Matsuda, Hiromichi Sonoda, Ryo Ohta, Takuma Iwai, Koki Takeda, Kazuhide Yonaga, Yuka Masuda and Hiroshi Yoshida

Departments of Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, and surgical treatment remains the first-line treatment to provide a cure. In addition to the aging population, obesity, low physical activity, and smoking habits increase CRC risk. Despite advances in surgical techniques, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. For early-stage CRC, endoscopic treatment, including endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection, has been performed. However, lymph node dissection is an integral part of surgical treatment for advanced-stage cancer because of the high incidence of lymph node metastasis. Conventional open surgery has evolved into laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Although prospective studies have confirmed the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for CRC, relevant treatment models of transverse colon cancer and rectal cancer still need to be further explored and validated. Furthermore, multidisciplinary treatment is needed to cure CRC completely. This review aimed to provide an update on recent advances in the surgical treatment of CRC.

J Nippon Med Sch 2022; 89: 246-254

Keywords
colorectal cancer, surgery, endoscopy, chemotherapy, navigation

Correspondence to
Seiichi Shinji, MD, PhD, Departments of Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
s-shinji@nms.ac.jp

Received, September 13, 2021
Accepted, November 22, 2021