This trial was critical for the acceptance of minimally invasive surgery in colorectal cancer. The non-inferiority design was successful in demonstrating that laparoscopic colectomy was at least oncologically comparable to open surgery as the existing standard of care at a time when there were concerns of possible cancer spread deriving from the use of pneumoperitoneum. In addition, patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery experienced reduced postoperative pain and shorter hospital stay than patients undergoing open surgery. Similar recovery advantages were confirmed by subsequent similar trials on colon cancer and have fostered the subsequent evolution of minimally invasive surgery.