Comparative efficacy and safety of resection techniques for treating 6 to 20mm, nonpedunculated colorectal polyps: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction

Various endoscopic resection techniques have been proposed for the treatment of nonpedunculated colorectal polyps sized 6–20 mm, however the optimal technique still remains unclear.

Methods

A comprehensive literature review was conducted for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), investigating the efficacy of endoscopic treatments for the management of 6–20 mm nonpedunculated colorectal polyps. Primary outcomes were complete and en bloc resection rates and adverse event rate was the secondary. Effect size on outcomes is presented as risk ratio (RR; 95% confidence interval [CI]).

Results

Fourteen RCTs (5219 polypectomies) were included. Endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR) significantly outperformed cold snare polypectomy(CSP) in terms of complete [(RR 95%CI): 1.04(1.00–1.07)] and en bloc resection rate [RR:1.12(1.04–1.21)]. EMR was superior to hot snare polypectomy (HSP) [RR:1.04(1.00–1.08)] regarding complete resection, while underwater EMR (U-EMR) achieved significantly higher rate of en bloc resection compared to CSP [RR:1.15(1.01–1.30)]. EMR yielded the highest ranking for complete resection(SUCRA-score 0.81), followed by cold-snare EMR(CS-EMR,SUCRA-score 0.76). None of the modalities was different regarding adverse event rate compared to CSP, however EMR and CS-EMR resulted in fewer adverse events compared to HSP [RR:0.44(0.26–0.77) and 0.43(0.21–0.87),respectively].

Conclusion

EMR achieved the highest performance in resecting 6–20 mm nonpedunculated colorectal polyps, with this effect being consistent for polyps 6–9 and ≥10 mm; findings supported by very low quality of evidence.