title: Long-term benefits of aggressive treatment for primary colorectal cancer.
abstract: The long-term follow up of 128 colorectal cancer patients is reported. Seventy-nine percent (101/128) of the patients had curative resections: 70 patients had radical lymphadenectomies with wide removal of tumor-adjacent nodes, and 31 patients had standard resections. The 5-year overall survival rates for Dukes' stage B and C patients and for all rectosigmoid cancer patients significantly favored radical resection (60% vs. 38%, 57% vs. 29%, respectively, P < 0.05). Tumor-free survival rates were also higher after radical lymphadenectomy but did not reach statistical significance. Eleven percent (14/128) of the patients required multiorgan resections, and/or preoperative radiation to render fixed cancers resectable, and these patients had a 10-year tumor-free survival rate of 45%, compared to zero % 5-year survival for the 27 patients who underwent palliative procedures (P < 0.01). These results confirm that many colorectal cancer patients will be cured with aggressive treatment and they support the need for a controlled trial for evaluation of lymphadenectomy for this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo 43699-0008, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khuder
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate