Abstract
BACKGROUND: Currently, open surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC) exhibits certain therapeutic efficacy; however, it may also hinder postoperative recovery in patients. Therefore, more advanced surgical methods are required to ensure smoother postoperative recovery. AIM: To analyze the efficacy of laparoscopic radical resection of CRC (LRRCC) in treating older patients with CRC and the effect of this procedure on inflammatory factors. METHODS: The study included 104 older patients with CRC admitted from August 2022 to August 2024. Participants undergoing open radical resection of CRC were categorized as the control group (50 patients), whereas those receiving LRRCC were classified as the research group (54 patients). Subsequently, comparative analyses involved data on efficacy, postoperative complications (ileus, incision infection, anastomotic fistula, and pulmonary infection), surgery-related parameters (operation duration and intraoperative bleeding volume), postoperative recovery-related indicators (time to first postoperative passage of flatus and defecation and length of hospital stay), and inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6). RESULTS: Data revealed markedly superior therapeutic efficacy and a lower overall postoperative complication rate in the research group compared to the control group. The research group demonstrated substantially less intraoperative bleeding, less time to first postoperative passage of flatus and defecation, and a shorter length of hospital stay despite a notably longer operation duration compared to the control group. Further, tumor necrosis factor-α, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 levels in the research group were significantly reduced 3 days postoperatively compared to both the preoperative and control group values. CONCLUSION: LRRCC for older patients with CRC exhibited superior therapeutic efficacy compared to open radical resection and significantly suppressed postoperative stress-related inflammatory responses, which merits clinical application and promotion.