A study of risk factors for recurrence in stageii colorectal cancer

Abstract

Purposes : This study was designed to clarify risk factors for recurrence in stageII colorectal cancer patients and to determine possible candidates for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.
Subjects and Methods : Subjects were consecutive 195 patients with stageII colorectal cancer who were operated on at the hospital from January 1993 to December 2005 and whose operations histologically resulted in a curative one. A univariate analysis was made for the recurrence using clinicopathological factors, risk factors for recurrence were selected by conducting a multivariate analysis, and then the survival rates were analyzed. Results : Factors significantly contributing to the recurrence were gender, age, depth of tumor invasion, ly, and v based on the univariate analysis. According to the multivariate analysis, ly, gender, v, and the depth of tumor invasion were selected as risk factors for recurrence. Patients who had more than two risk factors among of them showed the recurrence rate of 27.9% or more and the cumulative 5-year recurrence-free survival rate of 61.2%, and they were considered to belong to the high risk stageII patient group for recurrence. In the high risk stageII colorectal cancer patients, there was no significant difference in the cumulative 5-year recurrence-free survival rate between those undergone postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy or not (p=0.53). Discussion : We consider that the risk factors for recurrence might be ly, gender, v, and depth of tumor invasion, and that the patients who have more than two factors might be in high risk group for recurrence. A randomized controlled trial would be necessary to evaluate the effect of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.