The effect of metabolic syndrome on postoperative complications and long-term survival of patients with colorectal cancer

Ce Zhu; Chenchen Mao; Wentao Cai; Jingwei Zheng; Hui Yang; Tao You; Jian Chen; Yaojun Yu; Xian Shen; Liyi Li

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1036458

The effect of metabolic syndrome on postoperative complications and long-term survival of patients with colorectal cancer

Front Oncol. 2023 Jun 26:13:1036458. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1036458. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ce Zhu¹, Chenchen Mao², Wentao Cai¹, Jingwei Zheng¹, Hui Yang¹, Tao You¹, Jian Chen¹, Yaojun Yu¹, Xian Shen^{1

3}, Liyi Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
³ Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with poor prognosis in many cancers. However, the relationship between metabolic syndrome and overall survival (OS) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. We aimed to comprehensively analyze whether MetS could affect postoperative complications and long-term survival in patients with CRC.

Methods: We included patients who underwent CRC resection at our center between January 2016 and December 2018. Bias was reduced through propensity score matching analysis. Patients with CRC were divided into the MetS and non-MetS groups based on whether they had MetS. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors affecting OS.

Results: We included 268 patients; among them, 120 were included for further analysis after propensity score matching. There were no significant between-group differences in the clinicopathological features after matching. Compared with the non-MetS group, the MetS group had a shorter OS (P = 0.027); however, there was no significant between-group difference in postoperative complications. Multivariate analysis revealed that MetS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.997, P = 0.042), tumor-node-metastasis stage (HR = 2.422, P = 0.003), and intestinal obstruction (HR = 2.761, P = 0.010) were independent risk factors for OS.

Conclusions: MetS affects the long-term survival of patients with CRC without affecting postoperative complications.

Keywords: colorectal cancer; metabolic syndrome; overall survival; postoperative complications; propensity score matching.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by Project of Wenzhou Science and Technology Bureau (No. Y20210920), and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. LTGD23H160005).