Abstract
In order to clarify the relationship between perioperative blood transfusions and survival after surgery for cancer, 451 patients undergoing curative resection for colorectal cancer between 1978 and 1989 were analyzed. The survival rate in 156 patients transfused perioperatively was significantly lower than that in 201 non-transfused patients. When the analysis was limited to stage II patients, the transfused group had a significantly lower survival rate than non-transfused group. For other stages, the survival rate in transfused patients was lower than that in non-transfused patients, although the differences were not statistically significant. With respect to the location of tumors, the survival rate of colon cancer patients was adversely affected by perioperative blood transfusions, whereas it was not true for rectal cancer patients. On an analysis by Cox proportional hazard model, significant prognostic indicators for the patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer were lymphnode involvement, depth of cancer infiltration and perioperative blood transfusion. This study suggests that perioperative blood transfusions have an unfavorable impact on the survival rate of colorectal cancer patients.
