title: Carcinoma obstruction of the left colon and long-term prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term prognosis of patients with carcinoma obstruction of the left colon and determine the associated clinical and pathological characteristics to identify independent prognostic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1996 to 2003, 915 patients who underwent curative resection for left-sided colon carcinoma were classified as either the obstruction group (n = 169) or the non-obstruction group (n = 746). Clinical and pathological findings were compared between the 2 groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors correlated with survival and disease recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Distribution of tumor location, tumor size, macroscopic type and histological grade were found to be different in comparisons between the 2 groups. The tumor stage was more advanced in the obstruction group. The overall and disease-free survival rates were significantly lower in the obstruction group compared to the non-obstruction group. However, the results of the multivariate analysis demonstrated that obstruction itself was not an independent prognostic factor. Instead, patient age, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level and tumor stage were significant prognostic indicators for long-term outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obstruction in left-sided colon cancer was not an independent risk factor for long-term patient outcome. The study results confirmed the conventional prognostic factors of patient age, serum CEA level and tumor stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Beom
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Seong Hyeon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Ji Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Hae Ran
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Won Suk
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Woo Yong
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ho-Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Chun
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome