Extended versus standard complete mesocolon excision in sigmoid colon cancer. A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Planellas P, Marinello F, Elorza G, Golda T, Farrés R, Espín-Basany E et al.
Ann Surg 2022; 275: 271-280.

Extending the mesocolic excision to include the tissue around the inferior mesenteric vein did not increase the lymph node yield (21 versus 20 nodes) in this study that included 91 procedures. It did adversely affect genitourinary function; P=0.026.

Comment: No more nodes harvested, some damage done, and the study is too small to compare clinical outcomes.