Indocyanine Green (ICG) has significantly advanced minimally invasive surgery. It is widely recognized for its ability to visualize blood vessel patency in real-time across various surgical specialties. While its primary use in colorectal surgery is to evaluate anastomoses for leaks, numerous other applications have been documented in the literature. In this review, we aim to explore both established and emerging applications of ICG fluorescence in colorectal surgery, with the goal of improving patient outcomes. This includes preoperative tumor marking and the detection of metastatic disease. Some applications, such as lymphatic mapping, require further research to determine their impact on clinical practices. Conversely, others, like the intraoperative localizations of ureters, necessitate additional procedures and are not yet widely accepted by the surgical community. However, the development of alternative compounds could offer better solutions. Future research should focus on areas like quantitative ICG and protocol standardization in prospective multicenter studies.

In patients with colorectal cancer, peritoneal metastases are the second most frequent metastatic lesion after liver metastases. Peritoneal metastases have a very poor prognosis, with a median survival time of 5-7 months. Currently, there is a lack of research on the genetic differences between primary colorectal cancer and peritoneal metastases. Therefore, we aimed to identify their genetic characteristics through a cancer panel test using next-generation sequencing.

We aim to investigate the specificity of genetic variants in primary colorectal cancer and peritoneal metastases.

We recruited patients with stage I, II, and III primary colorectal cancer and peritoneal metastases for genetic analysis using NGS. Samples were collected from patients who underwent surgery at Dankook University Hospital and consented to genetic testing. NGS was performed using a cancer panel.

Among 36 patients with primary cancer, TP53 gene mutation was identified the most in 25 patients (69%), followed by APC gene mutation in 19 patients (53%), and KRAS gene mutation in 17 patients (47%). In the peritoneal metastasis patient group, unlike the primary cancer patient group, KRAS gene mutations were the most common 6 patients (55%), followed by TP53 gene mutations in 4 patients (36%) and PIK3CA gene mutations in 2 patients (18%).

The small number of surgical cases of peritoneal metastases was a limitation of our sample size. Nevertheless, we identified differences in the alterations of specific genes between primary and peritoneal metastases. Acquiring additional cases and collecting more data will provide deeper insights into these cancers.

Selected patients with peritoneal metastases of colorectal cancer (PM-CRC) can benefit from potentially curative cytoreductive surgery (CRS) ± hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), with a median overall survival (OS) of more than 40 months.

The aims of this evidence-based consensus were to define the indications for HIPEC, to select the preferred HIPEC regimens, and to define research priorities regarding the use of HIPEC for PM-CRC.

The consensus steering committee elaborated and formulated pertinent clinical questions according to the PICO (patient, intervention, comparator, outcome) method and assessed the evidence according to the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Standardized evidence tables were presented to an international expert panel to reach a consensus (4-point, weak and strong positive/negative) on HIPEC regimens and research priorities through a two-round Delphi process. The consensus was defined as ≥ 50% agreement for the 4-point consensus grading or ≥ 70% for either of the two combinations.

Evidence was weak or very weak for 9/10 clinical questions. In total, 70/90 eligible panelists replied to both Delphi rounds (78%), with a consensus for 10/10 questions on HIPEC regimens. There was strong negative consensus concerning the short duration, high-dose oxaliplatin (OX) protocol (55.7%), and a weak positive vote (53.8-64.3%) in favor of mitomycin-C (MMC)-based HIPEC (preferred choice: Dutch protocol: 35 mg/m2, 90 min, three fractions), both for primary cytoreduction and recurrence. Determining the role of HIPEC after CRS was considered the most important research question, regarded as essential by 85.7% of the panelists. Furthermore, over 90% of experts suggest performing HIPEC after primary and secondary CRS for recurrence > 1 year after the index surgery.

Based on the available evidence, despite the negative results of PRODIGE 7, HIPEC could be conditionally recommended to patients with PM-CRC after CRS. While more preclinical and clinical data are eagerly awaited to harmonize the procedure further, the MMC-based Dutch protocol remains the preferred regimen after primary and secondary CRS.

To determine the effect of intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) with mitomycin C on expression of intraperitoneal cancer cells markers in patients with T4 colon cancer.

For the period from January 2019 to April 2020, 65 patients with T4 colon cancer were included in prospective comparative study. There were 46 patients in the main group and 19 patients in the control group. In the main group, surgical procedure was followed by IPC with mitomycin C. No IPC was performed in the control group. An effectiveness of IPC was evaluated using CD133, CD24, CD26, CD44, CD184 markers expression in peritoneal lavages.

Significant between-group differences were observed for CD133 (p=0.0168), CD24 (p=0.0455) and CD44 (p=0.0012). There was a tendency to decrease in the level of CD184 expression in both groups in the second lavage (p=0.0605).

IPC in patients with T4 colon cancer can reduce the expression and proliferative potential of free cancer cells.

The application of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in colorectal and appendix cancer at risk of peritoneal seeding is an appealing strategy to prevent peritoneal metastases. Here, we present the technical details and postoperative outcomes of laparoscopic HIPEC performed with prophylactic intent in three patients with low-grade appendiceal neoplasm (LAMN) considered at risk of peritoneal recurrence.

Three patients with LAMN previously treated outside our department were selected for second-look laparoscopic exploration and HIPEC. The study received institutional review board approval. A Hasson trocar was inserted around the umbilicus. Four additional 10-mm trocars were inserted-one each in the left and right upper and lower quadrants. After full abdominal exploration, laparoscopic cytoreductive surgery was performed. Perfusion catheters were inserted through the four lateral trocars in the abdominal quadrants. HIPEC was performed with mitomycin 12 mg/m² and cisplatin 90 mg/m² for 60 minutes at a target temperature of 41.0°C. The postoperative course was uneventful, except for an episode of fluid leak due to dural tear (treated with supine bed rest for 48 hours and resulting in no adverse sequelae). The median length of hospital stay was 11 days. After a median follow-up of 36 months, all patients were asymptomatic with no evidence of recurrence.

Laparoscopic HIPEC for LAMN at risk of peritoneal recurrence appeared to be feasible, safe, and associated with a favorable postoperative outcome. More studies with larger samples of patients and with a standardized design are needed to better analyze the oncological value of this approach.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading forms of cancer. In 2017, over 72,000 of Russian citizens have been diagnosed with CRC. Cancer stage IV was diagnosed in 18 149 of them. Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is one of the forms of metastatic dissemination throughout the peritoneum. There no any unified and standardized approaches to the treatment or prevention of PC associated with CRC. Therefore, it is advisable to identify PC predictors in patients with colon cancer and prevention measures.

The adjuvant chemotherapy (FOLFOX) represents the standard of care in stage III colon cancer with some exceptions in old patients. Adjuvant treatment must also be discussed in high-risk stage II colon cancer. However, 40-50% of patients develop disease recurrence after curative R0 surgical resection. The liver was the most common site of recurrence followed by peritoneum. Although adjuvant chemotherapy improved disease-free survival and overall survival, 5-year overall survival remains less than 55% in stage III colon cancer. Different strategies could be adopted to escalate the standard adjuvant chemotherapy in these patients going from aggressive intravenous chemotherapy, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy to adding targeted therapies or immunotherapies. We reported in this review the published and ongoing trials evaluating these treatment modalities in colon cancer.

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) plays a pivotal role in the current treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer (CRC). Since the first demonstration, benefits for patients and especially an increase in survival have been described. In recent years, feasibility, efficacy and safety of HIPEC have been improved and progress has been made in understanding its oncological mechanism. Areas covered: In this article, leading publications have been reviewed including clinical trials to describe the clinical presentation of PC due to CRC and present recent evidence of the CRS/HIPEC procedure. The surgical approach including evaluation of the extent of PC is described and, in addition, the article reports about different HIPEC techniques as well as several protocols. Furthermore, the development and prognostic benefit of the combination of intraperitoneal and intravenous chemotherapy are outlined. Consideration has been given in particular to patient selection and the use of HIPEC if complete cytoreduction is not feasible. Expert commentary: The CRS/HIPEC procedure represents a curative approach to treat patients with PC from CRC. However, surgical skills and the HIPEC technique still require specialized oncological centers.