The research program at the RAH Colorectal Research Group has three main stems which cover major areas in colorectal patient care: Post-operative recovery, colorectal surgical oncology, and inflammatory bowel disease. Current and recent research activity is summarised below:
Post-operative Recovery
Colorectal Surgical Oncology
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Post-operative Recovery
- Improving return of bowel function after colorectal surgery: A systematic review, case – control study, and the STIMULAX open label randomised controlled trial of post-operative STIMUlants and LAXatives after major colorectal surgery. All these studies are in progress, and active recruitment to the STIMULAX RCT has now started with 100 patients included so far.https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=375650
Colorectal Surgical Oncology
- Artificial intelligence and deep learning to more accurately diagnose positive lymph node disease on pre-operative imaging in colorectal cancer (data collection phase)
- TNT prospective study of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in locally advanced and stage IV rectal cancer (ethics submission phase).
- RENO: Prospective Study of ‘Watch and Wait’ Strategy in Patients with Rectal Cancer who have Developed a Clinical Complete Response with concurrent Chemo‐radiotherapy: RENO trial (REctal cancer No Operation).
Protocol here: https://gicancer.org.au/clinical-trial/reno/#health-professionals - Impact of lateral pelvic lymph nodes on outcome after neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal cancer. A systematic review has also been completed and is the writeup phase. We have looked at RAH data which demonstrates that patients with lateral node disease have a significantly higher rate of local recurrence, despite being treated with chemoradiation. We are now in the final stages of leading and completing an international case:control study looking at whether surgical resection of these nodes after chemoradiation affects outcome (this includes our patients, and those form major centres in the Netherlands and the USA).
- Outcome after minimally invasive total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer. This is a binational Australia and New Zealand study which we are leading, comparing the outcomes of laparoscopic, robotic, open, and trans-anal resection of rectal cancer using the Binational Colorectal Cancer Audit database (paper in submission).
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- EEN: The role of elemental enteral nutrition in the treatment of acute Crohns flare: review and Royal Adelaide experience (data collection completed, paper in submission).