Survival and recurrence after sphincter saving resection and abdominoperineal resection for carcinoma of the middle third of the rectum.

Sphincter saving resections (SSR) are being performed with increasing frequency in patients with carcinoma of the lower two-thirds of the rectum. It is not clear, however, whether local and distant recurrence and long term survival after these operations will be comparable with those following abdominoperineal resection (APER). In this retrospective study, we have compared survival and recurrence in patients with carcinoma of the middle third of the rectum (7.5-12 cm from the anal verge) who were treated by APER (n = 83) or low SSR (n = 71). There was a higher proportion of men in the APER group, the mean age was higher and APER patients had tumours with less favourable pathological features. To minimize bias between the two groups, patients with tumours with similar pathological characteristics were compared. The overall cancer specific 5-year survival rate after SSR was 74 per cent and after APER was 62 per cent; the overall recurrence rates were 27 per cent after SSR and 41 per cent after APER; the incidence of local recurrence was 11 per cent after SSR and 8 per cent after APER. In these comparisons and when the patients' tumours were matched for one or two pathological variables, no significant difference was found between the two groups. These results suggest that patients with carcinoma of the middle third of the rectum who are treated by SSR will fare as well as patients who are treated by APER, with respect both to recurrence and to survival. A prospective controlled trial, however, is required to provide final proof of these points.