LAUSR

Background: Laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer has been demonstrated in clinical trials to have short‐term benefits when compared to the open surgical approach. Guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend that patients with stage III or high‐risk stage II colon cancer undergo adjuvant chemotherapy. We hypothesized that laparoscopic colectomy is associated with increased compliance to recommendations for chemotherapy, a lesser time to start of chemotherapy, and increased overall survival. Methods: The National Cancer Data Base was queried to identify patients with stage III or high‐risk stage II colon cancer (T4, positive margins, <12 lymph nodes, or high tumor grade) diagnosed 2010–2012. Patients were divided into laparoscopic colectomy and open colectomy groups. Intent‐to‐treat analysis was used with converted cases included in the laparoscopic colectomy group. Rates of receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, time from diagnosis and date of operation to start of chemotherapy, and overall survival were compared. Results: A total of 48,257 patients were included for analysis; 18,801 patients underwent laparoscopic colectomy and 29,456 underwent open colectomy. Laparoscopic colectomy patients received adjuvant chemotherapy at a somewhat greater rate than open colectomy (66.2% vs 59.4%, P < .01). Among patients who received chemotherapy, mean time to start of chemotherapy after definitive resection was somewhat less for laparoscopic colectomy than open colectomy (48.7 vs 52.7 days, P < .01). Two‐year overall survival was greater for laparoscopic colectomy than open colectomy (81.9% vs 73.2%, P < .01). Conclusion: Compared to open colectomy, laparoscopic colectomy is associated with somewhat greater rates of compliance with guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III and high‐risk stage II colon cancer, as well as a slightly lesser time to start of chemotherapy and improved overall survival.