Is stent insertion for obstructing colon cancer a good prognostic factor in long-term oncologic outcomes in symptomatic obstructive colon cancer?

Although obstructive colon cancer can often be treated with first-stage resection with primary anastomosis, the results of the oncological outcome of using stenting as a bridge of surgery in the literature are still controversial. Stent insertion for obstructed cancer provides an opportunity for bowel preparation and makes preoperative work-up and clinical staging possible. However, although stenting is becoming a more frequent treatment modality, studies with a significant number of patients acting as a bridge between surgery are still lacking. In this issue of Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery, the study by Kim et al. highlights the efficacy of stent insertion as the initial treatment and analyzed the prognostic factors in symptomatic obstructive colon cancer. The study demonstrated that emergent surgery, vascular invasion, and omitting adjuvant chemotherapy were independent poor prognostic factors in long-term oncologic outcomes suggested that stent insertion should be considered an initial treatment for symptomatic obstructive colon cancer.