title: Adjuvant chemotherapy with tegafur/uracil for more than 1 year improves disease-free survival for low-risk Stage II colon cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is uncertain whether adjuvant chemotherapy (CMT) improves survival in patients with low-risk Stage II colon cancer. We aimed to determine the disease-free survival (DFS) and 5-year overall survival (OS) of low-risk Stage II colon cancer patients treated with adjuvant tegafur/uracil (UFUR).
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2004 to December 2011, the follow-up status of 278 low-risk Stage II colon cancer patients who underwent surgery in a single medical center was retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into three groups based on whether they received adjuvant CMT with UFUR, adjuvant CMT with 5-fluorouracil, or surgery alone. DFS and 5-year OS curves were calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the study population, including 278 low-risk Stage II colon cancer patients with a mean age of 68.28 ± 13.01 years, 132 (47.5%) received adjuvant CMT with UFUR, 49 (17.6%) received adjuvant CMT with 5-fluorouracil, and 97 (34.9%) underwent radical surgery alone. At 5 years, the adjusted DFS and OS of low-risk Stage II colon cancer patients were 85.5% and 81.8%, respectively, in the surgery alone group and 97.9% and 96.2%, respectively, in the surgery plus UFUR > 12 months group (p = 0.004 and p = 0.098, respectively). In multivariate analysis, CMT with UFUR for more than 12 months increased DFS over surgery alone. There was no statistical difference in the 5-year OS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adjuvant CMT treatment of low-risk Stage II colon cancer patients with UFUR for more than 12 months following surgery improves DFS over surgery alone.
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Je-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yu-Ching
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chang-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Cheng-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chia-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chun-Ting
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Sheng-I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Wei-Tin
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: Jeminghu@gamil.com.
authors.forename: Shu-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D005641:Tegafur / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014498:Uracil / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D005641:Tegafur; D014498:Uracil
keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy; disease-free survival; low-risk Stage II colon cancer; overall survival; tegafur/uracil