ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the short and long-term efficacy of extralevator abdominoperineal excision (ELAPE)vs.conventional abdominoperineal excision (APE)on distal rectal cancer.Methods Relevant studies were identified by search of Medline,EMBASE,and Web of Science published between January 1,2008 and February 28,2015,and included in the systematic review and meta-analysis with Stata software (version 12.0). Results Our Meta-analysis included 14 studies involving 3278 patients,of whom 1843 (56.2%)underwent ELAPE and 1435 (43.8%)underwent APE.Compared with patients undergoing APE,those undergoing ELAPE had a significantly reduced risk of intraoperative bowel perforation (IBP)involvement (OR=0 .55 ,95% CI= 0 .37-0 .85 ),but no significant reduction in the occurrence of CRM positivity (OR=0 .81 ,95% CI=0 .52-1 .25 ), local recurrence (LR)(OR=0.49,95% CI=0.18-1.30),wound complications (WCs)(OR=0.93,95% CI=0.65-1.35)or in-hospital death (IHD)(OR=0.89,95% CI=0.47-1.71).Conclusion ELAPE can reduce the risk of IBP but not for CRM positivity or LR when compared with APE.Therefore,more higher-quality studies are needed to verify the short-and long-term effects of ELAPE procedure on distal rectal cancer.