The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread at a very fast rate, overwhelming and disrupting healthcare systems around the world since its outbreak in December 2019 in China. As of October 2021, the total number of COVID-19 cases exceeds 240,000,000, and the total number of deaths is close to 5,000,000. In the situation of widespread SARS-CoV-2 infection, restrictions on the medical system due to shifts in medical care to accommodate the pandemic will occur, and its impact on surgical and endoscopic treatment for colorectal cancer is inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to satisfy all of the following requirements: patient safety, prevention of exposure of healthcare workers including surgeons, prevention of nosocomial infection, and a decision on how to treat the primary disease. Surgical triage is also required, based on comprehensive consideration of the patient's condition, the severity of the disease, the SARS-CoV-2 infection situation in the region, and the medical supply system at each facility, including medical resources, human resources, and the availability of medical equipment. Understanding the diagnostic and treatment environment that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed is important in providing appropriate surgical care to patients who require surgery while taking utmost care to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The incidence of T1 colorectal cancer is expected to increase because of the prevalence of colorectal cancer screening and the progress of endoscopic treatment such as endoscopic submucosal dissection or endoscopic full-thickness resection. Currently, the requirement for additional surgery after endoscopic resection of T1 colorectal cancer is determined according to several treatment guidelines (in USA, Europe, and Japan) referring to the following pathological findings: lymphovascular invasion, tumor differentiation, depth of invasion, and tumor budding, all of which are reported to be risk factors for lymph node metastasis. In addition to these factors, in this review, we investigate whether tumor location, which is an objective factor, has an impact on the presence of lymph node metastasis and recurrence. From recent studies, left-sided location, especially the sigmoid colon in addition to rectum, could be a risk factor for lymph node metastasis and cancer recurrence. The treatment of T1 colorectal cancer should be managed considering these findings.

Objectives: The minimally important difference (MID) of the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life (FIQL) scale has never been determined. Thus, in this study, we aimed to estimate the MID of the Japanese FIQL for patients with posterior compartment prolapse (PCP).

Methods: For 3-months after surgery, we followed a prospective cohort of 136 patients with PCP combined with fecal incontinence (FI) who had undergone ventral rectopexy between 2012 and 2018. Usable data from 114 patients were analyzed. Patients have both completed the FIQL and the 36-Item Short Forum Health Survey (SF-36) before and after surgery. Distribution-based MID values were estimated at 1/2 SD and the standard error of measurement (SEM) for domain and total scores across time points. Changes in the domain scores anchored to changes in a SF-36 overall health assessment question were used to estimate anchor-based MID. To be interpreted as true change, the median, anchor-based MID values that were greater than the corresponding SEM were proposed as estimates of the MID for the FIQL.

Results: Distribution-based MID of 1/2 SD for each domain and total score ranged between 0.3 and 0.4, whereas SEM ranges were between 0.2 and 0.3. The anchor-based approach resulted in the median MID estimates of 0.4 to 1.0. Final estimates of MID for each FIQL and total score were as follows: lifestyle (0.6-1.1), coping/behavior (0.8-1.4), depression/self-perception (0.4-0.8), embarrassment (1.0-1.6), and total score (0.7-1.1).

Conclusions: The results provide a basis for clinically important differences in FIQL scores after surgery for patients with PCP and FI.

Objectives: This retrospective study explored the feasibility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) without radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods: Patients with clinical stage of T3-T4 and/or N-positive LARC patients were included.We retrospectively analyzed patients' NAC-related and perioperative outcomes.

Results: The study enrolled 30 patients. mFOLFOX6 or SOX plus cetuximab was administered to 12 patients with the wild-type RAS gene and FOLFOXIRI or SOXIRI to 18 patients with mutant-type RAS. The NAC completion rate was 90.0%. All patients underwent total mesorectal excision, and 29 patients underwent combined bilateral lateral lymph node dissection. The R0 operation rate was 90.0%. Although the postoperative complication rate was 40%, no complications were associated with NAC. The response rate of NAC and the proportion of histological anti-tumor effect grade ≥ 2 were 56.7% and 46.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: NAC was considered to be a safe, feasible treatment option for LARC.

Objectives: This study has investigated the efficacy and safety of daikenchuto (DKT) in elderly patients with fecal incontinence (FI).

Methods: This was an open-label, single-arm study (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000030252). DKT at 15 g/day was orally administered to patients for 28 days. Patients over 70 years old with FI, who scored over 11 in the Mini-Mental State Examination, are capable of oral intake, and provided written informed consent, were enrolled in this study. Changes in abdominal pain and bloating, Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score (CCIS), FI Quality of Life Scale (FIQLS), maximum resting pressure (MRP), FI frequency, and stool form were evaluated.

Results: In total, 21 patients (1 requested to withdraw) were enrolled in this study. The compliance rate was 95.2%, and no serious adverse drug reactions were observed. Improvements in terms of abdominal pain and bloating were observed at 2 weeks (p < 0.01). In the CCIS, the total score, leakage of solid stool, and leakage of liquid stool improved after 2 weeks (p < 0.01), while pad use and lifestyle alteration improved after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). Improvement in FIQLS was also observed at 2 weeks (p < 0.01). MRP demonstrated significant improvement at 2 weeks (p < 0.01). Eleven (52.4%) patients had no FI during the study period.

Conclusions: DKT improves MRP and quality of life in patients with abdominal symptoms; moreover, it is considered to be a safe and effective drug for elderly patients with FI.

Objectives: Understanding the relationship between sarcopenia and malignancy is increasingly important since they inevitably affect the aging population. We investigated the clinical significance of sarcopenia in nonmetastatic obstructive colorectal cancer (OCRC) patients who were inserted self-expandable metallic stent and underwent curative surgery.

Methods: Plain cross-sectional CT images obtained before stenting were retrospectively analyzed in 92 patients. Muscle volume loss (myopenia) and decreased muscle quality (myosteatosis) were evaluated as skeletal muscle index (SMI) and intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC), respectively.

Results: This study included 54 men and 38 women, with a median age of 70.5 years. The median interval between SEMS placement and the surgery was 17 days (range, 5-47). There were 35 postoperative complications. The median postoperative hospital stay was 15.5 days (range, 8-77). Twenty-eight patients (41.3%) were classified as SMI-low, and 31 (34.1%) patients were classified as IMAC-high. In multivariate analysis, IMAC-high [hazard ratio (HR) = 7.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.22-26.5, P = 0.001] and right-sided tumor (HR = 5.79, 95% CI 1.36-24.7, P = 0.018) were independent predictors of postoperative complications. IMAC-high (HR = 23.2, 95% CI 4.11-131, P < 0.001) and elevated modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) (HR = 5.85, 95% CI 1.22-28.1, P = 0.027) were independent predictors of infectious complications. Relapse-free survival and overall survival were not significantly different regardless of the SMI or IMAC status.

Conclusions: IMAC was associated with postoperative complications and infectious complications. Myosteatosis might be a stronger predictor of postoperative complications than myopenia.

Background: Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy has been identified to prolong the survival of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients without RAS mutations. However, its efficacy is not always consistent for these patients. Genomic profiles of primary tumors and metastases are not always concordant; thus, chemotherapeutic agents can alter the tumor molecular profile. This molecular heterogeneity may explain resistance to anti-EGFR therapy. Liquid biopsy using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a novel, non-invasive diagnostic tool that can accommodate this molecular heterogeneity, providing a comprehensive, real-time view of the molecular landscape. In this study, we evaluated the predictive value of genomic mutations in ctDNA for primary and acquired resistance to anti-EGFR therapy.

Methods/Design: This study is a prospective, multicenter, observational study of mCRC patients with wild-type tissue RAS treated with cytotoxic agents and anti-EGFR antibodies as first-line therapy. Genomic mutations, including RAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and EGFR in ctDNA, are assessed via Droplet Digital PCR before starting chemotherapy and every 3 months thereafter until disease progression. The target sample size is estimated to be 100. The primary endpoint is the response rate in patients without RAS mutation in their blood sample before starting chemotherapy.

Discussion: This study will clarify the predictive value of baseline RAS mutation in ctDNA for responses to anti-EGFR therapy; the frequency of emerging RAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and EGFR mutations in ctDNA; and the association with secondary resistance to anti-EGFR therapy in first-line therapy for wild-type tissue RAS mCRC patients.

Fecal incontinence has an enormous social and economic impact and may significantly impair quality of life. Even though fecal incontinence is a common complaint in (aging) adults, a structured pathophysiological model of the clinical presentations of fecal incontinence is missing in current literature. The most frequent manifestations of fecal incontinence are passive fecal loss, urge incontinence, or mixed fecal incontinence. At our institution, we treat 400 patients per year with defecation disorders, including a significant number of patients with fecal incontinence. On the basis of this experience, we have tried to create a concept that merges current insight in causes and treatment options in a clinically useful algorithm. By applying the system of anamnesis and physical examination described in this article and expanding it with simple additional anorectal examination, in most patients, one can determine the type of fecal incontinence and choose a targeted therapy.

Pembrolizumab is one of the treatment options for treatment-refractory unresectable advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or deficiencies in DNA mismatch repair (dMMR). Herein, we report a case in which a recurrent cecal cancer lesion showed specific imaging findings and local inflammatory findings during treatment with pembrolizumab, followed by marked shrinkage. The patient was an 80-year-old woman. Postoperative peritoneal recurrence of cecal cancer of approximately 7 cm in size was observed. The patient had MSI-H and was treated with pembrolizumab. After five courses of treatment, the patient presented to our hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. A blood test showed a strong inflammatory reaction, and computed tomography (CT) showed diffuse low-density area in the tumor. Under the suspicion of an abscess, conservative treatment was initiated and the patient quickly recovered. A CT at 1 month showed a marked reduction in size at the same site, and a CT at 3 months showed that the recurrent foci had almost disappeared. The inflammatory reaction before shrinkage in this case may have been caused by tumor immune response to pembrolizumab.

We describe our experience with robotic posterior rectopexy for a patient with full-thickness rectal prolapse. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such a case in the literature. A 94-year-old woman presented with a history of gradually worsening rectal prolapse. On examination, we found that the rectum was completely prolapsed, and we observed a prolapsed intestinal tract. Surgery was indicated and robotic rectopexy was performed without intraoperative complications. The postoperative course was uneventful, and she was discharged 10 days after the operation. One year later, there were no signs of recurrence. Robotic surgery has become common in recent years. We used robotic surgery for rectopexy, including the suturing procedure. Suturing in robotic surgery is easier than that in laparoscopic surgery, and we demonstrated that robotic rectopexy could be safely and easily performed. The trial was registered in the UMIN clinical trial registry (number 000040378).