Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify the risk factors associated with recurrence in patients with stage III colorectal cancer.
Method: We performed a retrospective analysis of 303 patients with stage III colorectal cancer who underwent gross radical resection between 1994 and 2003.
Results: The overall recurrence rate was 34.7%. Multivariate analysis identified 4 four risk factors associated with recurrence: depth of tumor invasion (T4; OR 2.192, p=0.004), lymph node metastasis (N2-3; OR 3.547, p<0.001), perineural invasion (PN1; OR 1.725, p=0.047) and extramural tumor deposits (EX; OR 2.555, p=0.001). The 5-year relapse-free survival rate was significantly associated with depth of tumor invasion (T4: 50.5%, T3: 73.6%; p<0.001), lymph node metastases (N2-3: 45.6%, N1: 73.8%; p<0.001), perineural invasion (PN1: 54.5%, PN0: 71.2%; p=0.002), and extramural tumor deposits (EX positive: 48.5%, EX negative: 74.6%; p<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that active postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy should be considered for the treatment of patients with stage III colorectal cancer with T4, N2-3, PN1, and EX.
