Evaluation of intraperitoneal lavage cytology before colorectal cancer resection

Purpose  The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of intraperitoneal lavage cytology (lavage Cy) status before the resection of colorectal cancer as a predictive factor of peritoneal recurrence. Materials and methods  The lavage Cy-positive [lavage Cy (+)] rate, peritoneal recurrence rate, and 5-year survival rate were examined in 298 cases of colorectal cancer in relation to various clinicopathological factors. Results  The overall lavage Cy (+) rate was 6.0%. The lavage Cy (+) rate within the group with peritoneal and hepatic metastases was significantly higher than that in the group without metastases (46.7% vs. 3.9% and 26.9% vs. 4.0%, respectively). The lavage Cy (+) rate was not significantly associated with any of the clinicopathological factors examined. The peritoneal recurrence rate was higher in the lavage Cy (+) group than in the lavage Cy-negative [lavage Cy (−)] group, although the difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in survival, regardless of the lavage Cy status, among the 263 patients who underwent curative resection. Conclusion  The lavage Cy status before resection was not a useful predictive factor of peritoneal recurrence in cases of colorectal cancer.