Abstract 3437: Visceral abdominal fat is associated with incisional hernia occurrence after colorectal cancer surgery - the ColoCare Study

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2015-08, Vol.75 (15_Supplement), p.3437-3437
• Main Authors: Böhm, Jürgen, Nattenmüller, Johanna, Pianka, Frank, Gigic, Biljana, Balavarca, Yesilda, Stüttgen, Nina, Schrotz-King, Petra, Scherer, Dominique, Ulrich, Alexis, Diener, Markus K., Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich, Ulrich, Cornelia M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3437

Introduction: Abdominal surgery for tumor removal is essential in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Incisional hernias (IH) are a common long-term complication after abdominal surgery with an incidence of 9-20%. Several risk factors for developing IH have been identified, including a higher body mass index (BMI). However, it is unknown whether specific abdominal fat compartments, such as subcutaneous or visceral fat, are associated with IH occurrence. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore whether subcutaneous or visceral fat compartments might be predictors of IH occurrence in CRC patients after oncologic surgery. Methods: This study was conducted on 139 newly-diagnosed colorectal cancer patients of the prospective cohort study ColoCare (NCT, Heidelberg, Germany) who underwent oncologic surgery at the surgical clinics of the University Hospital Heidelberg. Self-administered questionnaires were used to assess hernia occurrence at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-surgery. BMI was calculated (kg/m^2) and abdominal fat compartments were assessed by routine computed tomography (CT) scans. The total (TFA), subcutaneous (SFA) and visceral fat area (VFA) was quantified as area (cm^2) on level L3/L4 and L4/L5. Before analyses, fat data were grouped into two categories (high vs. low) by the median. Logistic regression was used to measure the association between BMI, TFA, SFA or VFA and IH occurrence. Results: Patients were on average 61.3 (±12.5) years old with 37% being female and 63% being male. Patients were diagnosed with either colon/rectosigmoid (53%) or rectal (47%) primary cancer. CT data on abdominal fat compartments were available for 56% (n = 80) of patients as CT scans were not performed on every subject during clinical routine. BMI was a statistically significant predictor of IH occurrence after adjusting for gender and age (Wald p-value