Background & objective: Recurrence is a very important prognostic factor for colorectal cancer patients after operation. The selection of patients for individualized follow-up and adjuvant therapy after curative resection of colorectal carcinoma depends on prognostic factors for recurrence. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic factors related to recurrence following curative surgery for colorectal cancer.
Methods: The clinicopathologic factors and follow-up data of 692 cases of colorectal cancers after surgical treatment from 1991 to 1999 were retrospectively analyzed by univariate and multivariate methods.
Results: The overall 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 33.1% and 19.7% in recurrent group, and 92.8% and 86.1% in nonrecurrent group, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that Dukes' stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor location, histological differentiation, gross findings and depth of bowel wall invasion were significantly associated with recurrence after operation. Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and tumor location were prognostic factors for recurrence after operation. In separate analysis of distant metastasis and local recurrence with multivariate method, lymph node metastasis was an prognostic variable for both distant metastasis and local recurrence. Depth of bowel wall invasion was associated with distant metastasis, and tumor location was associated with local recurrence.
Conclusion: Lymph node metastasis is the most important prognostic factor for recurrence or distant metastasis and local recurrence after operation for the patients with colorectal carcinoma. Depth of bowel wall invasion is an important prognostic factor for distant metastasis. Rectal cancer patients should be considered to have additional risks for local recurrence.