2011 Volume 64 Issue 1 Pages 6-10
Purpose: This study assessed the validation of patients with Stage III colon cancer according to the TNM, 7th edition (TNM7).
Patients and Methods: Patients with Stage III colon cancer who underwent curative surgery were investigated. We compared the relapse-free survival of these patients according to TNM7, the TNM 6th edition (TNM6) and Japanese General Rules (JGR7). We verified the relapse-free survival of these patients which we divided into subgroups according to the combination of T factor and N factor on TNM7.
Results: We reviewed 217 patients. The rates of 3-year relapse-free survival (3y-RFS) of the patients on TNM7 Stage IIIA, Stage IIIB and Stage IIIC were 95%, 82% and 74%. There was a significant difference in relapse-free survival of these patients in TNM7 (p = 0.0468), but no significant differences in TNM6 or JGR7. The main reason for the clear stratification in TNM7 was the up-staging of the patients with T4bN1 tumors (3y-RFS = 50%) from stage IIIB in TNM6 or JPG7 to Stage IIIC in TNM7.
Conclusion: The prognosis of patients with Stage III colon cancer on TNM7 was stratified, and was shown to be valid.
