Aim: The postoperative administration of oxaliplatin reduces the frequency of relapse in selected patients with colorectal cancer following surgical resection. However, factors associated with recurrence despite adjuvant therapy are largely unknown.
Patients and methods: We investigated 68 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with stage II or III colorectal cancer and received oxaliplatin-including chemotherapy, FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and oxaliplatin) or CapeOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin), after curative surgery.
Results: Nineteen patients developed recurrence during the median follow-up period of 17.8 months. Multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional-hazards model revealed that primary tumor size ≥ 45 mm was a significant predictor of recurrence (hazard ratio=3.16, 95% confidence interval=1.06-11.54, p=0.039). A primary tumor of 45 mm or more in size was associated with poor recurrence-free survival.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that large colorectal carcinoma needs to be recognized as a high-risk factor for recurrence even after surgery and subsequent treatment with oxaliplatin.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer; adjuvant chemotherapy; oxaliplatin; recurrence; tumor size.
Copyright© 2015 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.