Clinical application of carbon nanoparticles in curative resection for colorectal carcinoma.

Purpose: To explore the potential of carbon nanoparticles (CNs) for the intraoperative detection of positive and negative lymph nodes in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Patients and methods: The clinical data of 470 patients undergoing surgical procedures for colorectal cancer from June 2010 to February 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into the CN group (183 males and 161 females; mean age, 58.6±12.4 years), who were given a CN suspension, and the control group (78 males and 48 females; mean age, 59.1±12.2 years), who were not given a CN suspension. The operative time, blood loss, number of lymph nodes detected/positive lymph nodes, and prevalence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Three years after surgery, 444 cases (327 cases in the CN group and 117 cases in the control group) were interviewed, with the remaining 26 cases lost to follow-up. With regard to tumor, node, metastasis staging, the survival and prevalence of recurrence in each group at 3 years were analyzed.

Results: The number of positive lymph nodes was higher and the prevalence of blood loss was lower in the CN group than in the control group ( p <0.05). There were no significant differences in the operative time, number of lymph nodes detected, or the prevalence of postoperative complications, survival, metastasis, or recurrence between the two groups at 3 years ( p >0.05).

Conclusion: The application of CNs is convenient for the detection of lymph nodes to reduce blood loss and increase the probability of detecting positive lymph nodes accurately and rapidly.