Change in abdominal obesity after colon cancer surgery – effects of left-sided and right-sided colonic resection

Background Excess abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with metabolic diseases and poor survival in colon cancer (CC). We assessed the impact of different types of CC surgery on changes in abdominal fat depots. Material and methods Computed tomography (CT)-scans performed preoperative and 3 years after CC surgery were analyzed at L3-level for VAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and total adipose tissue (TAT) areas. We assessed changes in VAT, SAT, TAT and VAT/SAT ratio after 3 years and compared the changes between patients who had undergone left-sided and right-sided colonic resection in the total population and in men and women separately. Results A total of 134 patients with stage I-III CC undergoing cancer surgery were included. Patients who had undergone left-sided colonic resection had after 3 years follow-up a 5% (95% CI: 2–9%, p < 0.01) increase in abdominal VAT, a 4% (95% CI: 2–6%, p < 0.001) increase in SAT and a 5% increase (95% CI: 2–7%, p < 0.01) in TAT. Patients who had undergone right-sided colonic resection had no change in VAT, but a 6% (95% CI: 4–9%, p < 0.001) increase in SAT and a 4% (95% CI: 1–7%, p < 0.01) increase in TAT after 3 years. Stratified by sex, only males undergoing left-sided colonic resection had a significant VAT increase of 6% (95% CI: 2–10%, p < 0.01) after 3 years. Conclusion After 3 years follow-up survivors of CC accumulated abdominal adipose tissue. Notably, those who underwent left-sided colonic resection had increased VAT and SAT, whereas those who underwent right-sided colonic resection demonstrated solely increased SAT.