Zurleni T, et al. - The authors performed this retrospective, single-institution study to examine whether complete mesocolic excision (CME) with central vascular ligation (CVL) was correlated with a survival benefit compared with the traditional procedure in right-sided colon cancer. For right-sided colon cancer, surgical standardization of CME with CVL was associated with better staging and prognosis, especially in UICC stage II and III. This study demonstrated that CME was safe and reproducible with acceptable morbidity.

• Between 2007 and 2012, 251 consecutive patients underwent surgery for right colon cancer.
• When the authors started to perform CME systematically, 95 subjects received non-CME surgery before 2010, and 97 subjects received CME surgery after January 2010 after exclusion.
• They examined the number of lymph nodes, morbidity, and mortality.
• They investigated overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

• The median number of examined lymph nodes in the CME group was 33.28 and 26.92 in the non-CME group, p < 0.001.
• Without significant difference, postoperative complications were 21.6% in the CME group and 17.8% in the non-CME group.
• Out of 192 patients,1 patient died.
• In the CME group, 3-year OS was 88% and 71% in the non-CME group (p = 0.003).
• Three-year DSS was 97% in the CME group and 86% in the non-CME group in stage II.
• In the CME and in the non-CME groups, the 3-year DSSs were 86 and 67%, respectively (p < 0.001) in stage III.
• Cox’s regression demonstrated that at 3 years, CME (p = 0.0012), the number of lymph nodes (p = 0.029), and TNM stage (p < 0.001) were significant independent predictors of DSS.