Previous randomized trials and observational studies have shown only comparable survival benefits for colon cancer patients undergoing colectomy with laparoscopic versus conventional open surgery. Although laparoscopic surgery has become a preferred approach, its survival benefits have not been adequately examined in a recent colon cancer cohort. We therefore assessed in a real-world Medicare population short- and long-term survival among early-stage colon cancer patients treated with laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC) versus open colectomy (OC).
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