American Society of Clinical Oncology Recommendations on Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage II Colon Cancer

Prognostic determinants in surgical critial patients undergoing emergency surgery for Stage III or higher colorectal cancer

PURPOSE

Emergency surgery in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with elevated mortality and morbidity compared to elective operations. This study was conducted to identify the factors influencing both short and long term outcomes in emergent CRC operations, particularly in critically ill patients.

METHOD

This single center retrospective analysis focuses on patients with stage III or higher CRC who underwent emergency surgery and were admitted to the intensive care unit postoperatively.

RESULTS

Among 64 patients, 46 presented with generalized peritonitis due to free perforation. Non-survivors at 90 days had a higher incidence of preoperative shock (53.3% vs. 4.1%, P = 0.000), elevated perioperative Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores (P = 0.000; P = 0.013), and fewer retrieved lymph nodes (LN) (P = 0.010). Multivariate analysis identified LNs retrieval as a significant predictor of 90-day mortality (AUC = 0.727). For overall survival, younger age, lower American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status, absence of metastasis, adjuvant chemotherapy (CTx), and lower LN ratio (LNR) were associated with improved outcomes. Multivariate analysis showed ASA physical status and adjuvant CTx as significant predictors. In predicting 3-year recurrence (51% of patients), the Random Forest model achieved 65% accuracy. Age and LNR were major predictors, with 0.01 unit increase in LNR raising recurrence risk by 1.025-fold and each additional year of age by 1.035-fold.

CONCLUSION

The number of retrieved LNs was identified as a predictor of 90 day survival, ASA physical status and adjuvant CTx were identified as prognostic factors for overall survival, and age and the LNR were found to be predictors of disease recurrence within three years.

Interobserver agreement and practice patterns for grading of colorectal carcinoma: World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumours 5th edition versus American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition staging manual

AIMS

The current American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manual and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) colorectal carcinoma (CRC) protocol specify use of a four-tiered grading system (i.e. grades 1-4; well-differentiated-undifferentiated) for CRC, based on percentage of gland formation. The World Health Organization (WHO) 5th edition grades CRC into low-grade (well- and moderately differentiated) and high-grade (poorly and undifferentiated), based on the least differentiated component. We studied interobserver agreement and practice patterns among pathologists when grading CRC by these two grading systems.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Five gastrointestinal pathologists reviewed 100 scanned CRC slides and graded the tumour on each slide, per provided criteria in (a) WHO 5th edition book, (b) AJCC manual/CAP CRC protocol and (c) their clinical practice. A questionnaire for grading selected CRC subtypes was also provided. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's χ2 test and Fleiss multi-rater kappa analyses. Overall, agreement among the five reviewers when grading via WHO and AJCC criteria for low-grade and high-grade CRC was moderate (κ = 0.568, P < 0.001) and good (κ = 0.611, P < 0.001), respectively. All reviewers graded significantly more tumours as high-grade when using WHO (median = 46) versus AJCC/CAP criteria (median = 20).

CONCLUSIONS

Interobserver agreement was higher using the AJCC grading criteria as a two-tiered system. Significantly more tumours were called high-grade using the WHO criteria. This raises concerns regarding upgrading tumours, as well as potential differences in grading tumours among pathologists worldwide, based on regional preferred grading systems. Synchronisation of these two grading systems is necessary for uniform grading of CRCs throughout institutions.

Patients with T4N0 and T1‑3N1 colon cancer and a high preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen level benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin for 6 months

A shorter duration of oxaliplatin adjuvant chemotherapy has recently emerged as a potential option for patients with high-risk stage II and low-risk stage III (T1-3N1) colon cancer (CC). The present study aimed to elucidate the risk factors for recurrence in these patient populations and to identify the appropriate indications for shortened treatment durations. The present study retrospectively analyzed 396 patients who underwent curative surgery for pathological T4N0 or stage III CC, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, at two institutes. Overall, 234 patients with T4N0 and low-risk stage III CC were categorized into the low-risk group and 162 patients with high-risk stage III CC into the high-risk group. The 3-year relapse-free survival rate was significantly higher in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. Multivariate Cox model analysis of the low-risk group revealed that high preoperative serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and incomplete 6-month adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin were independent poor prognostic factors. The prognosis of patients in the low-risk group who had abnormal CEA levels and did not complete the 6-month adjuvant treatment with oxaliplatin was similar to that of patients in the high-risk group. However, the prognosis of patients in the low-risk group with high CEA levels improved with a 6-month adjuvant treatment with oxaliplatin to a similar level to that of all patients with low CEA levels in the low-risk group. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the duration of adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin should not be shortened in patients with high preoperative CEA levels, even in the low-risk group.

Risk Factors and Patterns of Recurrence in Stage III Perforated Colorectal Cancer: A Single-Center, Retrospective, Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Colorectal perforation generally results in a poor prognosis with a high mortality rate. Malignant colorectal perforation may result in cancer recurrence; however, the reason for higher recurrence rates in perforated than in nonperforated colorectal cancer is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to identify factors influencing stage III perforated colorectal cancer recurrence after a microscopically margin-negative resection (R0) surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This single-center, retrospective, observational study enrolled patients with stage III colorectal cancer who had undergone R0 surgery between 2007 and 2019. The clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence patterns of patients with perforated (n = 34) versus nonperforated tumors (n = 120) were compared.

RESULTS

The T4 disease proportion was significantly higher, and lymphatic invasion was more severe in the perforated group than in the nonperforated group. Significantly more dissected lymph nodes (n = 17) were observed in the nonperforated group than in the perforated group (n = 11). The rates of postoperative Clavien-Dindo III or higher complications and in-hospital mortality were significantly higher in the perforated group. Of the 23 and 96 patients who underwent long-term follow-up in the perforated and nonperforated groups, recurrence occurred in 14 (61%) and 34 patients (35%), respectively. The proportion of stage IIIC lesions was higher in the recurrence subset of the nonperforated group; however, clinicopathological characteristics did not differ significantly between the subsets of the perforated group.

CONCLUSIONS

The higher recurrence rate of stage III perforated colorectal cancer is likely due to higher T classification, lymphatic invasion, and increased lymph node metastases. Factors leading to perforation are likely related to advanced cancer stage.

Does lymph node dissection improve the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer?

The number of lymph nodes (LNs) dissected during surgery has become an interesting topic. Simple intuition always leads us to believe that dissecting more LNs will result in more accurate pathological staging and assurance of surgical quality. However, when the number of LNs dissected reaches a certain threshold, the patient's prognosis does not continue to improve as the number of dissected nodes increases. Instead, an increase in the number of dissected LNs may be accompanied by a higher incidence of complications. Currently, there are only less than 40% of colorectal cancer patients undergoing adequate LN evaluation. Therefore, obtaining a sufficient number of LNs in clinical practice is extremely challenging. How to further address the insufficiency of LN dissection due to various reasons, which results in concerns of surgeons about patient prognosis, is currently a critical focus.

Recurrence risk analysis for stage II and III colorectal cancer, and the implications of diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for the recurrence of stage III colorectal cancer

The present study investigated the risk factors for recurrence in patients with stage II-III colorectal cancer (CRC) who underwent colorectal surgery. Data from 232 patients with stage II and III CRC who underwent primary tumor resection were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the risk factors for recurrence. The overall recurrence rate was 21.6% (n=50/232). Univariate Cox regression analysis identified diabetes mellitus (DM) (P=0.032) as a risk factor for recurrence. In addition, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that DM was an independent risk factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) (hazard ratio 2.40, P=0.016). The RFS curve obtained using the Kaplan-Meier method indicated that in patients with stage III colon cancer, the non-DM group demonstrated a significantly longer RFS than the DM group (P=0.012). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that DM may be an independent risk factor for recurrence in patients undergoing curative resection for stage III CRC. Consequently, better postoperative therapy and careful monitoring might be required, especially in patients with stage III CRC and preoperative DM.

Chinese herbal medicine (JianPi-BuShen) and completion rate of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage II and III colon cancer: A randomized clinical trial

PURPOSE

Many cancer patients express interest in using herbal medicine during chemotherapy, but little is known about its benefits and risks. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Chinese herbal medicine JianPi-BuShen formula (JPBS) on adjuvant chemotherapy completion in colon cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This multi-center, phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled trial included patients with stage II (high risk for recurrence) and stage III colon cancer following surgery, planning to receive CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) chemotherapy. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either JPBS or a placebo. The primary outcome was the completion rate of planned chemotherapy cycles. Secondary outcomes included relative dose intensity (RDI), chemotherapy-induced toxicities, quality of life (measured by the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System - ESAS), adverse events (AEs), and serious AEs (SAEs). Predefined subgroup analyses were performed by age (>65/≤65) and TNM stage (II/III).

RESULTS

A total of 376 participants were analyzed, with a median age of 60.3 years; 56.9 % were male, and 67.6 % had stage III disease. Chemotherapy completion was significantly higher in the JPBS group than in the placebo group (63.0 % vs. 47.6 %, P = 0.003). Oxaliplatin RDI was also higher in the JPBS group (P = 0.049). Subgroup analyses showed JPBS significantly improved completion rates for stage II patients (73.0 % vs. 42.4 %, P = 0.001) and younger patients (66.9 % vs. 48.8 %, P = 0.004). JPBS reduced grade ≥ 2 vomiting (3.8 % vs. 6.4 %, P = 0.007) but increased grade ≥ 2 thrombocytopenia (16.2 % vs. 12.4 %, P = 0.012). Quality of life improved in stage II and younger patients.

CONCLUSION

JPBS improved chemotherapy completion rates in stage II and younger colon cancer patients without compromising tolerability. Further research is needed to explore its mechanisms and long-term effects.

High expression of PAX8-AS1 correlates with poor prognosis and response to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in stage II colon cancer

Decisions regarding adjuvant therapy in patients with stage II colon cancer remains controversial and challenging. We aimed to determine novel biomarkers that help to predict relapse free survival (RFS) and identify a subset of patients with stage II colon cancer who could gain survival benefits from adjuvant chemotherapy. Public microarray datasets of stage II colon cancer samples were extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Global gene expression changes were then analyzed between the paired early relapse and long-term survival group to identify the differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs. Based on Lasso Cox regression modeling analysis, a total of 30 mRNAs and 2 lncRNAs were finally identified. With specific formula, stage II patients in training and validation sets were divided into low and risk groups with significantly different RFS. PAX8-AS1 is the novel lncRNA which showed the highest upregulation in early relapse group. Patients with high PAX8-AS1 expression level showed notably poorer RFS in both meta GEO cohort (P = 0.04, Figure 4B) and FUSCC cohort (P < 0.001, Figure 4C). Among the stage II patients with high PAX8-AS1 level, administration of fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy provided a substantial improvement in RFS (P = 0.002, Figure 3C). Further mechanistic study unveiled that PAX8-AS1 increases the response of CRC cells to chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo by maintaining the mRNA stability of PAX8. In conclusion, PAX8-AS1 as a novel and reliable biomarker for predicting prognosis and identification of patients with stage II disease who could gain survival benefit from fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Prognostic factors in patients with pathological T3N0M0 gastric cancer: A multi-institutional, retrospective study (YCOG2202)

AIM

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortalities worldwide. According to the pathological TNM classification, T3N0M0, Stage IIA gastric cancer has been excluded from the S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy trials. Thus, the clinical impact of S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with pathological T3N0M0 cancer and the associated prognostic factors have not been elucidated. Consequently, we determined the prognostic factors in patients with pathological T3N0M0 gastric cancer and the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy.

METHODS

From 2007 to 2018, 205 patients diagnosed with pathological T3N0M0 gastric cancer were enrolled at seven institutions. Recurrence-free and overall survival rates were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses for recurrence-free and overall survival were performed, using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were 84.7 % and 81.4 %, respectively. Although there was no difference in overall survival, multivariate analysis identified positive venous invasion as an independent risk factor for recurrence (p = 0.007, hazard ratio = 3.851). Adjuvant chemotherapy had no impact on both recurrence free and overall survival. However, the 5-year overall survival rates in the sub-cohort that completed adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 were higher than those in the sub-cohort that did not complete the treatment (p = 0.019).

CONCLUSION

The prognosis of patients with pathological T3N0M0 gastric cancer was relatively favorable. However, adjuvant chemotherapy was not identified as an independent risk factor and patients with venous invasion were at a high risk of recurrence. Therefore, a large-scale multi-institutional prospective study evaluating the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for high risk pT3N0M0 is required.

Hospital Service Volume as an Indicator of Treatment Patterns for Colorectal Cancer

INTRODUCTION

A hospital's approach (volume of cancer treatment services provided) to treating metastatic colorectal cancer influences a patient's treatment as strongly as patient disease status. The implications of hospital-level treatment approaches across disease stages remain understudied. We sought to determine if hospital service volume (SV) for metastatic colorectal cancer could be predictive of nonstandard treatment patterns in stages I-III colon cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using the National Cancer Database, we examined rates of nonstandard treatment patterns among patients with colon cancer between 2010 and 2017. After adjusting for clinicopathological characteristics using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated the relationship between hospital-level SV for metastatic colorectal cancer and nonstandard treatment approaches for patients with stages I-III colon cancer.

RESULTS

There were significant associations between hospital-level SV for metastatic colorectal cancer and the odds of chemotherapy overtreatment among patients with stage I-III colon cancer, as well as undertreatment among patients with stages II-III disease after adjusting for hospital-, patient-, and tumor-level covariates. Patients at the highest-level SV hospitals for metastatic disease had 1.29 higher odds (95% CI = 1.18-1.41; P < 0.0001) of receiving overtreatment compared to patients from lowest SV hospitals. The odds ratio of undertreatment in highest SV compared to lowest SV was 0.64 (95% CI 0.56-0.72; P< 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital-level SV of patients with metastatic colon cancer is a significant indicator of nonstandard treatment patterns among patients with stage I-III colon cancer. Hospitals with the highest volume of cancer treatments have higher odds of providing overtreatment, while low SVs are associated with higher odds of undertreatment.

Real-world outcomes of stage II and III colorectal cancers treated by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy based on the mismatch repair status

PURPOSE

In Japan, immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair (MMR) proteins targeted at stage II and III colorectal cancers (CRCs) has been covered by national insurance since October, 2022. This study aimed to clarify the long-term outcomes of patients with stage II and III CRCs receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy based on their MMR status.

METHODS

The outcomes of 640 patients who underwent radical surgery for stage II and III CRCs were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Deficient MMR (dMMR) was diagnosed in 41 (13.3%) patients with stage II and 28 (9.1%) patients with stage III CRC. The overall survival and recurrence rates were not significantly different between the patients with stage II and those with stage III CRC. The risk factors for recurrence among those with stage II CRC were tumors on the left side, T4 disease, and the presence of BRAF wild type. The recurrence rates were lower in the stage II CRC patients with sporadic dMMR than in those with suspected Lynch syndrome (LS). The first site of recurrence was more frequently the peritoneum or distant lymph node in patients with dMMR.

CONCLUSIONS

Stage II CRC patients with sporadic dMMR were found to have a very good prognosis. On the other hand, peritoneal dissemination or distant lymph node metastasis tended to develop in patients with dMMR.

Final analyses of the prospective controlled trial on the efficacy of uracil and tegafur/leucovorin as an adjuvant treatment for stage II colon cancer with risk factors for recurrence using propensity score-based methods (JFMC46-1201)

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk stage II colon cancer (CC) has not been well established. Using propensity score matching, we previously reported that the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was significantly higher in patients treated with uracil and tegafur plus leucovorin (UFT/LV) against surgery alone. We report the final results, including updated 5-year overall survival (OS) rates and risk factor analysis outcomes.

METHODS

In total, 1902 high-risk stage II CC patients with T4, perforation/penetration, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma/mucinous carcinoma, and/or < 12 dissected lymph nodes were enrolled in this prospective, non-randomized controlled study based on their self-selected treatment. Oral UFT/LV therapy was administered for six months after surgery.

RESULTS

Of the 1880 eligible patients, 402 in Group A (surgery alone) and 804 in Group B (UFT/LV) were propensity score-matched. The 5-year DFS rate was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (P = 0.0008). The 5-year OS rates were not significantly different between groups. The inverse probability of treatment weighting revealed significantly higher 5-year DFS (P = 0.0006) and 5-year OS (P = 0.0122) rates in group B than in group A. Multivariate analyses revealed that male sex, age ≥ 70 years, T4, < 12 dissected lymph nodes, and no adjuvant chemotherapy were significant risk factors for DFS and/or OS.

CONCLUSION

The follow-up data from our prospective non-randomized controlled study revealed a considerable survival advantage in DFS offered by adjuvant chemotherapy with UFT/LV administered for six months over surgery alone in individuals with high-risk stage II CC.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Japan Registry of Clinical Trials: jRCTs031180155 (date of registration: 25/02/2019), UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000007783 (date of registration: 18/04/2012).

Peritoneal lavage cytology in patients with curative resection for stage II and III colorectal cancer: A multi-institutional prospective study

Aim

To clarify the usefulness of intraoperative lavage cytology in patients undergoing curative resection for pStage II-III colorectal cancer in a prospective multicenter study.

Methods

Patients preoperatively diagnosed with stage II-III colorectal cancer between 2013 and 2017 from 20 hospitals were enrolled. Lavage cytology was performed twice during the surgery. The primary endpoint was the effect of lavage cytology on the 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) in patients with pStage II-III colorectal cancer. The secondary endpoint was the effect of lavage cytology on the 5-year overall survival (OS) and peritoneal recurrence.

Results

A total of 1378 patients were eligible for analysis. The number of patients with pStage II-III colorectal cancer was 670 and 708, respectively. Fifty-four patients (3.9%) had positive cytological results. In pStage II patients, the 5-year RFS rates with positive and negative cytology were 61.1% and 81.6%, respectively (p = 0.023). The 5-year OS rates were 67.1% and 91.7%, respectively (p = 0.0083). However, there was no difference in RFS or OS between pStage III patients with positive and negative cytology results. The peritoneal recurrence rates were 11.8% and 1.5% in pStage II patients with positive and negative cytology results, respectively (p = 0.032). These rates were 10.5% and 2.5% in patients with stage III disease, respectively (p = 0.022).

Conclusion

Stage II colorectal cancer patients with negative cytology had better outcomes than those with positive cytology. Peritoneal lavage cytology is useful for predicting peritoneal recurrence after curative resection of stage II-III colorectal cancer.

Tumour Budding Is a Useful Predictor to Identify High-Risk Stage II Colon Cancer Patients After Curative Surgery

Aim. Although it is now accepted in the literature that tumour budding (TB) is a useful survival indicator in colon cancer (CC), there are still uncertainties about daily use. Here we methodologically examined the role of TB on survival in CC. Methods. In our study, we examined colon cancer patients who had surgery up to 15 years before presentation. TB was calculated separately using different comprehensive methodological methods. Results. We first investigated an optimal evaluation method. Relationship with prognostic factors was better (Venous invasion [p = .001], advanced pT [p = .003], perineural invasion [p = .040], MSS [p = .016], advanced size [p = .001], tumour obstruction [p = .005], margin involvement [p = .043], and nodal involvement [p = .028]) in Method-1. Similarly, with the same method, the success of the cut-off value, the correlation of TB data (r = .724), and the repeatability of the method (Κappa = .53-.75) were quite good (ROC = .816 [.707-.925]). Then, survival analysis was performed using the best three methods, including this method. In univariate analysis using Method-1, survival analyses were worse in high TB patients (RFS: 81%, p < .001; OS: 84%, p < .001). Multivariate analyses using the same method confirmed that high TB for RFS and OS was an independent poor prognostic parameter for survival (p = .002, Hazard ratio [HR]: 1.42 [1.13-1.80]) and OS (p = .014, HR: 1.38 [1.07-1.79]). Conclusions. With our study, we showed that tumour budding calculated by the standard method is a very valuable prognostic parameter in stage II CC and can contribute to the detection of patients with poor prognosis in stage II CC.

Integrated analysis reveals a novel 5-fluorouracil resistance-based prognostic signature with promising implications for predicting the efficacy of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) has been used as a standard first-line treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Although 5-FU-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) have achieved success in treating CRC, drug resistance and low response rates remain substantial limitations. Thus, it is necessary to construct a 5-FU resistance-related signature (5-FRSig) to predict patient prognosis and identify ideal patients for chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

METHODS

Using bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data, we established and validated a novel 5-FRSig model using stepwise regression and multiple CRC cohorts and evaluated its associations with the prognosis, clinical features, immune status, immunotherapy, neoadjuvant therapy, and drug sensitivity of CRC patients through various bioinformatics algorithms. Unsupervised consensus clustering was performed to categorize the 5-FU resistance-related molecular subtypes of CRC. The expression levels of 5-FRSig, immune checkpoints, and immunoregulators were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT‒qPCR). Potential small-molecule agents were identified via Connectivity Map (CMap) and molecular docking.

RESULTS

The 5-FRSig and cluster were confirmed as independent prognostic factors in CRC, as patients in the low-risk group and Cluster 1 had a better prognosis. Notably, 5-FRSig was significantly associated with 5-FU sensitivity, chemotherapy response, immune cell infiltration, immunoreactivity phenotype, immunotherapy efficiency, and drug selection. We predicted 10 potential compounds that bind to the core targets of 5-FRSig with the highest affinity.

CONCLUSION

We developed a valid 5-FRSig to predict the prognosis, chemotherapeutic response, and immune status of CRC patients, thus optimizing the therapeutic benefits of chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, which can facilitate the development of personalized treatments and novel molecular targeted therapies for patients with CRC.

The Causes Behind the Survival Paradox in Non-Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients and its Impact on the Treatment Regimen: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

The survival paradox (ie, the prognosis of the population at earlier tumor stages is worse than that of the population at later stages) has been observed in colorectal cancer based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Nodes-Metastases staging system. We aimed to clarify the reason for the survival paradox and its impact on patient treatment.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study analyzing eligible patients with colorectal cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database and Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between 2010 and 2019. Adjusting for confounders using propensity score matching allowed confirmation of the effect of staging on the survival paradox.

RESULTS

Based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, the subgroups with survival paradox might be IIB/C versus IIIA, IIA versus IIIA, and T4N0 (IIB/C) versus T3N1 (IIIB). After propensity score matching, stage IIB/C still had a worse prognosis than stage IIIA (5-year overall survival: 69.3% vs 78.5%, P < .001). Interestingly, the proportion of stage IIIA people receiving chemotherapy was higher than that of stage IIB/C (P < .001), and logistic regression models showed that staging was the reason for deciding whether a patient receives chemotherapy or not. These phenomena between stage IIB/C and IIIA were verified in the local database.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested that the survival paradox was mainly due to underestimation of stage T4 weights or overestimation of stage N1 weights, and the low proportion of chemotherapy in patients with T4N0M0 colorectal cancer (proven to be more malignant than stage IIIA) might be related to the assignment to earlier stages, resulting in a lack of attention and poor compliance to chemotherapy in these patients.

Stratification of Stage II Colon Cancer Using Recurrence Prediction Value: A Multi-institutional International Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

To create a recurrence prediction value (RPV) of high-risk factor and identify the patients with high risk of cancer recurrence.

BACKGROUND

There are several high-risk factors known to lead to poor outcomes. Weighting each high-risk factor based on their association with increased risk of cancer recurrence can provide a more precise understanding of risk of recurrence.

METHODS

We performed a multi-institutional international retrospective analysis of patients with stage II colon cancer patients who underwent surgery from 2010 to 2020. Patient data from a multi-institutional database were used as the Training data, and data from a completely separate international database from 2 countries were used as the Validation data. The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival.

RESULTS

A total of 739 patients were included from Training data. To validate the feasibility of RPV, 467 patients were included from Validation data. Training data patients were divided into RPV low (n=564) and RPV high (n=175). Multivariate analysis revealed that risk of recurrence was significantly higher in the RPV high than the RPV low [hazard ratio (HR) 2.628; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.887-3.660; P <0.001). Validation data patients were divided into 2 groups (RPV low, n=420) and RPV high (n=47). Multivariate analysis revealed that risk of recurrence was significantly higher in the RPV high than the RPV low (HR 3.053; 95% CI 1.962-4.750; P <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

RPV can identify stage II colon cancer patients with high risk of cancer recurrence worldwide.

Trends in patterns of treatment and survival of colorectal cancer patients using cancer registry data in Japan: 1995-2015

Recent advances in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) have increased the importance of multidisciplinary treatment. This study aimed to clarify trends in the treatment and survival of CRC using population-based cancer registry data in Japan. We analyzed the survival of CRC cases diagnosed from 1995 through 2015 from a population-based cancer registry of six prefectures. The year of diagnosis was classified into five periods, and the trends in the detailed categorization of treatments and survival were identified. We calculated net survival and excess hazard of death from cancer using data on 256,590 CRC patients. The use of laparoscopic surgery has been increasing since 2005 and accounts for the largest proportion of treatment types in the most recent period. Net survival of CRC patients diagnosed after 2005 remained high for laparoscopic surgery and endoscopic surgery (endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection). There was an upward trend in treatment with chemotherapy in addition to open and laparoscopic surgery. Using the excess hazard ratio at the regional stage since 2005, there has been a significant improvement in survival in the younger age group and the rectum cancer group. By type of treatment, there was a tendency toward significant improvement in the open surgery + chemotherapy group. We clarified the trends in treating CRC and the associated trends in survival. Continuous survey based on population-based data helps monitor the impact of developments in treatment.

Factors Affecting Recurrence and Survival in Stage IIA Colon Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION

Our study delves into the intricate interplay of risk factors and the strategic selection of adjuvant therapy, scrutinizing their influence on recurrence and survival outcomes in stage IIA (T3N0M0) colon cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study examined the medical records of patients who underwent surgery for stage IIA colon cancer. Identification of stage IIA (pT3N0M0) colon cancer involved a comprehensive review of postoperative clinical records and histological reports. Parameters such as demographic data, tumor characteristics, microsatellite instability status, tumor locations, recurrence risk factors, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen levels, and adjuvant treatments were systematically evaluated.

RESULTS

In our study involving 220 patients, 138 were male (62.7%), with a median age of 62 years and a median body mass index of 25.1 kg/m2. In the patient group without risk factors, no statistically significant difference was detected in disease-free survival (DFS) rates between those who received treatment and those who did not (p = 0.546). DFS rates of patients with >1 risk factor were statistically significantly lower than those with a single risk factor (p = 0.017). In patients with >1 risk factor, the DFS of those who did not receive adjuvant treatment was significantly lower than those who received adjuvant treatment (p < 0.001). In the patient group with recurrence, when adjuvant treatments were considered, recurrence was significantly higher in the group receiving capecitabine (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The decision for adjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIA colon cancer patients involves careful consideration of various parameters and risk factors. The evolving landscape of research may refine recommendations, ensuring optimal treatment outcomes while minimizing unnecessary toxicity.

Preoperative serum cholinesterase as a prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer

Aim

Serum cholinesterase (ChE) levels are considered to reflect nutritional status. Although ChE has been well documented as a prognostic factor for some cancers, no clear consensus on its use for colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reached. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between preoperative serum ChE and postoperative long-term prognosis in CRC patients.

Methods

A total of 1053 CRC patients who underwent curative surgery were included in this study. The correlations between the preoperative ChE value and overall survival (OS) or cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed. By dividing patients into two groups according to their ChE value, OS and CSS were compared between the groups.

Results

Multivariate analysis revealed that the continuous ChE value was a significant predictor of OS (hazard ratio, 0.996; 95% CI, 0.993-0.998; p = 0.002) and CSS (hazard ratio, 0.994; 95% CI, 0.991-0.998; p = 0.001), independent of other variables. The low-ChE (≤234 U/L) group had a significantly poorer prognosis than the high-ChE (>234 U/L) group for both OS (5-year OS for low ChE and high ChE: 79.8% and 93.3%, respectively; p < 0.001) and CSS (5-year CSS for low ChE and high ChE: 84.8% and 95.6%, respectively; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Lower preoperative serum ChE levels are a predictive factor of poor prognosis for CRC patients. As serum ChE levels can be measured quickly and evaluated easily, ChE could become a useful marker for predicting the postoperative long-term outcomes of CRC patients.

Emerging and under-recognised patterns of colorectal carcinoma morphologies: a comprehensive review

While the overwhelming majority of colorectal carcinomas (CRC) are diagnosed as adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified, there are numerous under-recognised morphologic patterns of CRC. These patterns are recognised by the WHO, appear in reporting manuals for the American Joint Committee of Cancer, and/or are listed on synoptic reports, while many other variants have either fallen out of favour or are emerging as future bona fide patterns. Herein, we discuss 13 variants: serrated adenocarcinoma, micropapillary adenocarcinoma, medullary carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, signet-ring cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, adenoma-like adenocarcinoma, lymphoglandular complex-like CRC, carcinoma with sarcomatoid components, cribriform-comedo-type adenocarcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma and low-grade tubuloglandular adenocarcinoma. The purpose of this review is to scrutinise these variants by assessing their clinical characteristics, morphologic cues, as well as pitfalls, and address their prognostic significance. Our analysis aims to bring clarity and updated understanding to these variants, offering valuable insights for pathologists. This contributes to more nuanced CRC diagnosis and treatment strategies, highlighting the importance of recognising a broad spectrum of morphologic patterns in CRC.

Prognostic and predictive value of examined lymph node count in stage III colorectal cancer: a population based study

BACKGROUND

The role of tumor-draining lymph nodes in the progression of malignant tumors, including stage III colorectal cancer (CRC), is critical. However, the prognostic and predictive value of the number of examined lymph nodes (ELNs) are not fully understood.

METHODS

This population-based study retrospectively analyzed data from 106,843 patients with stage III CRC who underwent surgical treatment and registered in three databases from 2004 to 2021. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cohort was divided using into training and test cohorts at a ratio of 3:2. We employed restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves to explore nonlinear relationships between overall survival (OS) and ELNs counts and performed Cox regression to evaluate hazard ratios across different ELNs count subtypes. Additional validation cohorts were utilized from the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) under the same criteria. Outcomes measured included OS, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Molecular analyses involved differential gene expression using the "limma" package and immune profiling through CIBERSORT. Tissue microarray slides and multiplex immunofluorescence (MIF) were used to assess protein expression and immune cell infiltration.

RESULTS

Patients with higher ELNs counts (≥ 17) demonstrated significantly better long-term survival outcomes across all cohorts. Enhanced OS, CSS, and PFS were notably evident in the LN-ELN group compared to those with fewer ELNs. Cox regression models underscored the prognostic value of higher ELNs counts across different patient subgroups by age, sex, tumor differentiation, and TNM stages. Subtype analysis based on ELNs count revealed a marked survival benefit in patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy in the medium and large ELNs counts (≥ 12), whereas those with fewer ELNs showed negligible benefits. RNA sequencing and MIF indicated elevated immune activation in the LN-ELN group, characterized by increased CD3+, CD4+, and CD8 + T cells within the tumor microenvironment.

CONCLUSIONS

The number of ELNs independently predicts survival and the immunological landscape at the tumor site in stage III CRC, underscoring its dual prognostic and predictive value.

Tumor Budding as a Prognostic Marker in Primary Colon Cancer - A Single Center Experience

Introduction: Tumor budding (TB) is considered to be a morphological and prognostic factor relevant to colon cancer (CC). The aim of our study is to assess the TB and to evaluate its relationship to clinicopathological findings within stage II and III CC patients as a single center experience. Materials and methods: A total of 120 CC patients operated between 2018 and 2021 at the University Clinic of Digestive Surgery in Skopje, the Republic of North Macedonia were included in this retrospective, single center study. TB was evaluated by the magnification of 200x along the invasive front of the primary tumor on H&E and CKAE1/AE3 immunohistochemically stained sections. Two grades were used: low grade (TB1, 0-4 TBs) and high-grade, which includes intermediate (TB2, 5-9 TBs) and high grade (TB3 ≥10TBs) of TBs. Results: A statistically significant correlation has been identified between high-grade TB and age (p=0.05) of the patients. There was also a significantly higher occurrence of high-grade TB in patients within stage III CC. Statistically significant correlations were also found in lymph node status (p<0.01), vascular invasion (p<0.05), lymphatic invasion (p<0.01), postoperative relapse (p<0.01), and death (p<0.01). Tumor relapse and death were significantly more frequent in patients with high-grade TB than those with low-grade TB. Patients with registered high-grade TB demonstrated significantly lower relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates than patients with low-grade TB over the observation period (RFS: 53.8% vs. 98.5%, p<0.001; OS: 65.4% vs. 97.1%, p<0.001, respectively). Patients with lung and liver postoperative relapses had higher percentage of cases with high-grade TB (94.1%). Conclusion: Our results are highly suggestive that TB should be included as a histological biomarker in the pathology report of patients with stage II and stage III CC, because of its prognostic value.

Adjuvant chemotherapy in stage 1 colon cancer: Patient characteristics and survival analysis from the national cancer database

BACKGROUND

A subset of patients in ACS-NCDB with stage-1 colon cancer received adjuvant chemotherapy (AC), in contrast to national guidelines. This study aimed to define this population and evaluate associations between AC and survival.

METHODS

Patients with T1-2N0 colon cancer from 2004 to 2016 were separated into AC and non-AC groups. Adverse pathological features (APF) included T2, poor differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, positive margin, and inadequate lymph nodes (<12). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate prognostic factors for overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of 1745 of 139,857 patients (1.2 %) received AC. Receiving AC was associated with male sex (p = 0.02), uninsured (p < 0.01), low income (p = 0.02), or having ≥2 APFs (p < 0.001). In the total cohort, AC was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.14 [1.04-1.24] P < 0.01). On subset analysis, AC was associated with improved OS for patients with ≥2 APFs (log-rank P=<0.001), and decreased mortality when adjusted for covariates (HR 0.81 [0.69-0.95] P=<0.01). The most significant predictor of mortality was old age (HR 3.78 [3.67, 3.89] p ≤ 0.01), followed by higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (HR 1.73 [1.69, 1.76] (p ≤ 0.01), and higher APF score (HR 1.46 [1.42, 15.2] p ≤ 0.01).

CONCLUSION

AC was associated with decreased survival in the total cohort of stage 1 colon cancer patients, but was associated with improved survival for patients with multiple APFs.

PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE DENSITY OF TUMOR-INFILTRATING LYMPHOCYTES AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL-MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF COLON ADENOCARCINOMAS

AIM

To study the prognostic value of the density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and its association with other clinical-morphological parameters in colon adenocarcinomas (CAC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

236 CAC samples were examined. TILs density was estimated as the percentage of tumor stromal area occupied by TILs. By the index of TILs density, the patients were divided into 3 groups: TILs 0-9% (n = 88); TILs 10-39% (n = 106); TILs > 40% (n = 42). Dependent on this index, their overall survival (OS) was analyzed.

RESULTS

Kaplan - Meier curves revealed a significant (p < 0.001) difference in the OS for patients with different TILs infiltration intensities. Multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression model analysis has confirmed that patients with moderate TILs density (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.96, p = 0.035) had better OS rates compared to low TILs density. TILs were associated with the stage (p < 0.001), lymph node metastasis pN (p < 0.001), distant metastasis M (p < 0.001), and the patient's outcome (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

TILs can be considered an additional prognostic tool during regular histological examination and are strongly associated with the most significant clinical-morphological features of CAC.

High-tissue FRMD6 expression predicts better outcomes among colorectal cancer patients

INTRODUCTION

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. The hippo pathway works as a regulator of organ growth and is often a target for mutations in cancer. Ferm domain containing protein 6 (FRMD6) is an activator of the hippo pathway. This study aimed to explore the role of FRMD6 in CRC and to determine how well it works as a prognostic factor among CRC patients.

METHODS

The tumor expression of FRMD6 was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in 538 colorectal patients operated on at Helsinki University Hospital. We assessed FRMD6 expression with clinicopathological parameters and the impact of FRMD6 expression on survival.

RESULTS

Patients with a high FRMD6 expression exhibited a better prognosis (univariable hazard ratio [HR] 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.81), with a 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) of 66.3%. By contrast, patients with a low FRMD6 expression had a 5-year DSS of 52.8%. A high FRMD6 expression level served as an independent predictor for better survival in the Cox multivariable survival analysis (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33-0.86).

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that a high FRMD6 expression is an independent marker for a better prognosis in CRC and could help determine the prognosis for CRC patients.

Association of Historical Housing Discrimination and Colon Cancer Treatment and Outcomes in the United States

PURPOSE

In the 1930s, the federally sponsored Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) used racial composition in its assessment of areas worthy of receiving loans. Neighborhoods with large proportions of Black residents were mapped in red (ie, redlining) and flagged as hazardous for mortgage financing. Redlining created a platform for systemic disinvestment in these neighborhoods, leading to barriers in access to resources that persist today. We investigated the association between residing in areas with different HOLC ratings and receipt of quality cancer care and outcomes among individuals diagnosed with colon cancer-a leading cause of cancer deaths amenable to early detection and treatment.

METHODS

Individuals who resided in zip code tabulation areas in 196 cities with HOLC rating and were diagnosed with colon cancer from 2007 to 2017 were identified from the National Cancer Database and assigned a HOLC grade (A, best; B, still desirable; C, definitely declining; and D, hazardous and mapped in red). Multivariable logistic regression models investigated association of area-level HOLC grade and late stage at diagnosis and receipt of guideline-concordant care. The product-limit method evaluated differences in time to adjuvant chemotherapy. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models investigated differences in overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

There were 149,917 patients newly diagnosed with colon cancer with a median age of 68 years. Compared with people living in HOLC A areas, people living in HOLC D areas were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease (adjusted odds ratio, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.12]). In addition, people living in HOLC B, C, and D areas had 8%, 16%, and 24% higher odds of not receiving guideline-concordant care, including lower receipt of surgery, evaluation of ≥12 lymph nodes, and chemotherapy. People residing in HOLC B, C, or D areas also experienced delays in initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. People residing in HOLC C (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.09 [95% CI, 1.05 to 1.13]) and D (aHR, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.09 to 1.18]) areas had worse OS, including 13% and 20% excess risk of death for individuals diagnosed with early- and 6% and 8% for late-stage disease for HOLC C and D, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Historical housing discrimination is associated with worse contemporary access to colon cancer care and outcomes.

Principles of risk assessment in colon cancer: immunity is key

In clinical practice, the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) following tumor surgical resection raises a critical dilemma for stage II colon cancer (CC) patients. The prognostic features used to identify high-risk CC patients rely on the pathological assessment of tumor cells. Currently, these factors are considered for stratifying patients who may benefit from ACT at early CC stages. However, the extent to which these factors predict clinical outcomes (i.e. recurrence, survival) remains highly controversial, also uncertainty persists regarding patients' response to treatment, necessitating further investigation. Therefore, an imperious need is to explore novel biomarkers that can reliably stratify patients at risk, to optimize adjuvant treatment decisions. Recently, we evaluated the prognostic and predictive value of Immunoscore (IS), an immune digital-pathology assay, in stage II CC patients. IS emerged as the sole significant parameter for predicting disease-free survival (DFS) in high-risk patients. Moreover, IS effectively stratified patients who would benefit most from ACT based on their risk of recurrence, thus predicting their outcomes. Notably, our findings revealed that digital IS outperformed the visual quantitative assessment of the immune response conducted by expert pathologists. The latest edition of the WHO classification for digestive tumor has introduced the evaluation of the immune response, as assessed by IS, as desirable and essential diagnostic criterion. This supports the revision of current cancer guidelines and strongly recommends the implementation of IS into clinical practice as a patient stratification tool, to guide CC treatment decisions. This approach may provide appropriate personalized therapeutic decisions that could critically impact early-stage CC patient care.

Racial Disparities in Receipt of Guideline-Concordant Care for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in the United States

PURPOSE

Young individuals racialized as Black are more likely to die after a colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis than individuals racialized as White in the United States. This study examined racial disparities in receipt of timely and guideline-concordant care among individuals racialized as Black and White with early-onset CRC.

METHODS

Individuals age 18-49 years racialized as non-Hispanic Black and White (self-identified) and newly diagnosed with CRC during 2004-2019 were selected from the National Cancer Database. Patients who received recommended care (staging, surgery, lymph node evaluation, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) were considered to have received guideline-concordant care. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for age and sex. The decomposition method was used to estimate the relative contribution of demographic characteristics (age and sex), comorbidities, health insurance, and facility type to the racial disparity in receipt of guideline-concordant care. The product-limit method was used to evaluate differences in time to treatment between patients racialized as Black and White.

RESULTS

Of the 84,882 patients with colon cancer and 62,573 patients with rectal cancer, 20.8% and 14.5% were racialized as Black, respectively. Individuals racialized as Black were more likely to not receive guideline-concordant care for colon (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.18 [95% CI, 1.14 to 1.22]) and rectal (aOR, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.21 to 1.33]) cancers. Health insurance explained 28.2% and 21.6% of the disparity among patients with colon and rectal cancer, respectively. Individuals racialized as Black had increased time to adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 1.28 [95% CI, 1.24 to 1.32]) and neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal cancer (HR, 1.42 [95% CI, 1.37 to 1.47]) compared with individuals racialized as White.

CONCLUSION

Patients with early-onset CRC racialized as Black receive worse and less timely care than individuals racialized as White. Health insurance, a modifiable factor, was the largest contributor to racial disparities in receipt of guideline-concordant care in this study.

Unraveling the role of tumor sidedness in prognosis of stage II colon cancer

Background

Stage II colon cancer has varying risks for metastasis, and treatment strategies depend on molecular and clinicopathological features. While tumor-sidedness is a well-accepted prognostic factor for stage III/IV colon cancer, its role in stage II is controversial. Understanding its effect in stage II is crucial for improving treatment strategies.

Methods

We analyzed clinical and follow-up data of colon cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2017). Patients were divided into a primary study cohort (2010-2017) and a validation cohort (2004-2009). The baseline characteristics between right-sided colon cancer (RCC) and left-sided colon cancer (LCC) groups were compared. Moreover, the effect of tumor size on cancer-specific survival (CSS) was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results

The study involved 87,355 patients in the study cohort and 65,858 in the validation cohort. Of the study cohort, 52.3% were diagnosed with RCC. The median age was 64 years old, with 48.5% females and 76.8% of white people. In addition, stage II RCC showed better CSS compared with LCC (5-year CSS 88.0% vs 85.5%, P < 0.001), while stage III/IV RCC demonstrated poorer outcomes. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified that the right-sidedness was a positive prognostic factor in stages I/II but negative in stages III (HR 1.10, P < 0.001) and IV (HR 1.26, P < 0.001). Chemotherapy rates decreased in RCC, particularly in stage II (RCC vs LCC: 16.2% vs 28.5%, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis, stratified by T3/T4 stages and chemotherapy status, further highlighted better survival outcomes in RCC.

Conclusions

RCC is associated with a significantly better prognosis in stage II. The importance of considering tumor-sidedness in clinical decision-making and the design of future clinical trials should be emphasized.

The depth of perineural invasion is an independent prognostic factor for stage II colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Perineural invasion (PNI) is the invasion of nerves by cancer cells and is associated with poor survival in stage II colorectal cancer. However, PNI can be further subdivided according to the depth of invasion, and the depth of PNI has not been clearly linked to prognosis.

METHOD

This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of different depths of PNI in stage II colorectal cancer. We defined PNI in the submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus as superficial perineural invasion (sup-PNI) and PNI in the subserous plexus as deep perineural invasion (deep-PNI). Patients were divided into three groups based on the depth of PNI: sup-PNI, deep-PNI and non-PNI. Then, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the role of PNI in the prognosis of stage II colorectal cancer.

RESULTS

This study enrolled 3508 patients with stage II colorectal cancer who underwent resection for primary colorectal lesions between January 2013 and September 2019. Clinicopathological features, including elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, T4 stage, poor differentiation, deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR), and vascular invasion, were correlated with deep-PNI. Multivariate analyses revealed that deep-PNI was associated with worse overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR], 3.546; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.307-5.449; P < 0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS; HR, 2.921; 95% CI, 2.032-4.198; P < 0.001), compared with non-PNI. Conversely, no significant difference in OS or DFS was observed between the sup-PNI and non-PNI groups in multivariate analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

The study demonstrated that the depth of PNI was an independent prognostic factor for patients with stage II colorectal cancer, and patients with deep PNI had a worse prognosis. Thus, patients with PNI require further subdivision according to the depth of invasion.

The prognostic value of tumor budding in a thoroughly characterized stage II colon cancer population in the context of a national screening program

Tumor budding as a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer has not previously been investigated in a cohort of screened stage II colon cancer patients. We assessed the prognostic significance of tumor budding in a thoroughly characterized stage II colon cancer population comprising surgically resected patients in the Region of Southern Denmark from 2014 to 2016. Tumors were re-staged according to the 8th edition of UICC TNM Classification, undergoing detailed histopathological evaluation and tumor budding assessment following guidelines from the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference. Prognostic evaluation utilized Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazard models for time to recurrence (TTR), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). Out of 497 patients, 20% were diagnosed through the national colorectal cancer screening program. High-grade tumor budding (Bd3) was found in 19% of tumors and was associated with glandular subtype, perineural invasion, mismatch repair proficient tumors, and tumor recurrence (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.045, and p = 0.007 respectively). In multivariable Cox regression, high-grade budding was a significant prognostic factor for TTR compared to low-grade (Bd3 HR 2.617; p = 0.007). An association between tumor budding groups and RFS was observed, and the difference was significant in univariable analysis for high-grade compared to low-grade tumor budding (Bd3 HR 1.461; p = 0.041). No significant differences were observed between tumor budding groups and OS. High-grade tumor budding is a predictor of recurrence in a screened population of patients with stage II colon cancer and should be considered a high-risk factor in a shared decision-making process when stratifying patients to adjuvant chemotherapy.

The National Burden of Colorectal Cancer in the United States from 1990 to 2019

CRC accounts for approximately a tenth of all cancer cases and deaths in the US. Due to large differences in demographics among the different states, we aim to determine trends in the CRC epidemiology and across different states, age groups, and genders. CRC rates, age-adjusted to the standard US population, were obtained from the GBD 2019 database. Time trends were estimated as annual percentage change (APC). A pairwise comparison was conducted between age- and gender-specific trends using the tests of parallelism and coincidence. Age-specific trends were also assessed in two age subgroups: younger adults aged 15-49 years and older adults aged 50-74 years. We also analyzed the prevalence, incidence, mortality, and DALYs in the US between 1990 and 2019. A total of 5.53 million patients were diagnosed with CRC in the US between 1990 and 2019. Overall, CRC incidence rates have significantly increased in younger adults (11.1 per 100,000 persons) and decreased in older adults (136.8 per 100,000 persons) (AAPC = 1.2 vs. -0.6; AAPC difference = 1.8, p < 0.001). Age-specific trends were neither identical (p < 0.001) nor parallel (p < 0.001), suggesting that CRC incidence rates are different and increasing at a greater rate in younger adults compared to older adults. However, for both men and women (49.4 and 35.2 per 100,000 persons), incidence rates have decreased over the past three decades at the same rate (AAPC = -0.5 vs. -0.5; AAPC difference = 0, p = 0.1). Geographically, the southern states had the highest mortality rates with Mississippi having the highest rate of 20.1 cases per 100,000 population in 2019. Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Colombia had the greatest decreases in mortality over the study period (-42.1%, -41.4%, and -40.9%). Decreased mortality was found in all states except Mississippi, where the mortality of CRC increased over the study period (+1.5%). This research provides crucial insights for policymakers to tailor resource allocation, emphasizing the dynamic nature of CRC burden across states and age groups, ultimately informing targeted strategies for prevention and intervention.

Mechanism of Preventing Recurrence of Stage II-III Colorectal Cancer Metastasis with Immuno-inflammatory and Hypoxic Microenvironment by a Four Ingredients Chinese Herbal Formula: A Bioinformatics and Network Pharmacology Analysis

BACKGROUND

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is one of the top three malignancies with the highest incidence and mortality.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to identify the effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on postoperative patients with stage II-III CRC and explore the core herb combination and its mechanism.

METHODS

An observational cohort study was conducted on patients diagnosed with stage II-III CRC from January 2016 to January 2021. The primary outcome was disease-free survival, which was compared between the patients who received TCM or not, and the secondary outcome was the hazard ratio. The relevance principle was used to obtain the candidate herb combinations, and the core combination was evaluated through an assessment of efficacy and representativeness. Then, biological processes and signaling pathways associated with CRC were obtained by Gene Ontology function, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes pathway, and Wikipathway. Furthermore, hub genes were screened by the Kaplan-Meier estimator, and molecular docking was employed to predict the binding sites of key ingredients to hub genes. The correlation analysis was employed for the correlations between the hub genes and tumor-infiltrating immune cells and hypoxiarelated genes. Ultimately, a quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to verify the regulation of hub genes by their major ingredients.

RESULTS

A total of 707 patients were included. TCM could decrease the metastatic recurrence associated with stage II-III CRC (HR: 0.61, log-rank P < 0.05). Among those patients in the TCM group, the core combination was Baizhu → Yinchen, Chenpi, and Fuling (C combination), and its antitumor mechanism was most likely related to the regulation of BCL2L1, XIAP, and TOP1 by its key ingredients, quercetin and tangeretin. The expression of these genes was significantly correlated with both tumor-infiltrating immune cells and hypoxia- related genes. In addition, quercetin and tangeretin down-regulated the mRNA levels of BCL2L1, XIAP, and TOP1, thereby inhibiting the growth of HCT116 cells.

CONCLUSION

Overall, a combination of four herbs, Baizhu → Yinchen, Chenpi, and Fuling, could reduce metastatic recurrence in postoperative patients with stage II-III CRC. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of BCL2L1, XIAP, and TOP1 by its key ingredients quercetin and tangeretin.

α-SMA+ cancer-associated fibroblasts increased tumor enhancement ratio on contrast-enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography in stages I-III colon cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Our prior research revealed that the tumor enhancement ratio (TER) on triphasic abdominal contrast-enhanced MDCT (CE-MDCT) scans was a prognostic factor for patients with stages I-III colon cancer. Building upon this finding, the present study aims to investigate the proteomic changes in colon cancer patients with varying TER values.

METHODS

TER was analyzed on preoperative triphasic CE-MDCT scans of 160 stages I-III colon cancer patients. The survival outcomes of those in the low-TER and high-TER groups were compared. Proteomic analysis on colon cancer tissues was performed by mass spectrometry (MS) and verified by immune-histological chemistry (IHC) assays. In vivo, mouse xenograft models were employed to test the function of target proteins identified through the MS. CE-MDCT scans were conducted on mice xenografts, and the TER values were compared.

RESULTS

Patients in the high-TER group had a significantly worse prognosis than those in the low-TER group. Proteomic analysis of colon cancer tissues revealed 153 differentially expressed proteins between the two groups. A correlation between TER and the abundance of α-SMA protein in tumor tissue was observed. IHC assays further confirmed that α-SMA protein expression was significantly increased in high-TER colon cancer, predominantly in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) within the cancer stroma. Moreover, CAFs promoted the growth of CRC xenografts in vivo and increased TER.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified the distinct protein changes in colon cancer with low and high TER for the first time. The presence of CAFs may promote the growth of colon cancer and contribute to an increased TER.

Delving into New Frontiers: assessing ChatGPT's proficiency in revealing uncharted dimensions of general surgery and pinpointing innovations for future advancements

PURPOSE

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly influenced various medical domains, including general surgery. This research aims to assess ChatGPT, an AI language model, in its ability to shed light on the historical facets of general surgery and pinpoint opportunities for innovation.

METHODS

A series of 7 pertinent questions on field of general surgery was posed to ChatGPT. The AI-generated responses were meticulously examined for their relevance, accuracy, and novelty. Additionally, the study explored the AI's ability to recognize knowledge gaps and propose inventive solutions. Expert general surgeons and general surgical residents possessing comprehensive research experience assessed ChatGPT's answers by comparing them to established guidelines and existing literature.

RESULTS

ChatGPT presented information that was relevant and accurate, albeit superficial. However, it exhibited convergent thinking and was unable to produce truly groundbreaking ideas to transform general surgery. Instead, it pointed to current popular trends with significant potential for further development. It failed to provide references when prompted and even created references that could not be verified in exhibiting databases.

CONCLUSION

While ChatGPT demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of existing general surgical knowledge and the capacity to generate relevant, evidence-based material, it displayed limitations in producing truly groundbreaking concepts or discoveries beyond current knowledge. These results highlight the necessity of enhancing AI-driven models to facilitate the emergence of new insights and promote synergistic, human-AI partnerships for expediting advancements within the general surgery domain.

Prognostic Significance of Enlarged Lymph Nodes in Stage II Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

Many studies have reported a correlation between lymph node metastasis and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. However, the clinical significance of enlarged lymph nodes for prognosis has scarcely been explored.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of enlarged lymph nodes in stage II colorectal cancer.

DESIGN

This is a multicenter retrospective observational study with a median follow-up period of 66.8 months.

SETTINGS

Patients' medical records were retrospectively collected from the Japanese Study Group for Postoperative Follow-up of Colorectal Cancer database.

PATIENTS

This study included 2212 patients with stage II colorectal cancer who underwent surgical resection between January 2009 and December 2012. Patients were classified into the enlarged lymph node and nonenlarged lymph node groups and their data were compared.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses of the 2 groups were compared. The main outcomes measured were recurrence-free survival and overall survival.

RESULTS

The enlarged lymph node group showed significantly better overall survival and recurrence-free survival in pT4b cases but not in pT3 or pT4a cases. In pT4b cases, an enlarged lymph node (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29-0.98) was an independent prognostic factor for longer recurrence-free survival, whereas a rectal lesion (HR, 3.46; 95% CI, 1.90-6.29) was an independent prognostic factor for shorter recurrence-free survival. An enlarged lymph node was associated with a lower distant recurrence rate (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26-0.92) and a tendency to correlate with better overall survival (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.22-1.14).

LIMITATIONS

The retrospective design may have increased the risk of selection bias. Inadequate information regarding enlarged lymph nodes is another study limitation.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that enlarged lymph nodes are associated with a favorable prognosis in patients with pT4b stage II colorectal cancer. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/C246 .

IMPORTANCIA PRONSTICA DE LOS GANGLIOS LINFTICOS AGRANDADOS EN EL CNCER COLORRECTAL EN ESTADIO II

ANTECEDENTES:Muchos estudios han informado una correlación entre la metástasis en los ganglios linfáticos y el pronóstico en pacientes con cáncer colorrectal. Sin embargo, apenas se ha explorado la importancia clínica de los ganglios linfáticos agrandados para el pronóstico.OBJETIVO:El objetivo fue evaluar la importancia clínica de los ganglios linfáticos agrandados en el cáncer colorrectal en estadio II.DISEÑO:Este es un estudio observacional retrospectivo multicéntrico con una mediana de seguimiento de 66,8 meses.CONFIGURACIÓN:Los registros médicos de los pacientes se recopilaron retrospectivamente de la base de datos del Grupo de estudio japonés para el seguimiento posoperatorio del cáncer colorrectal.PACIENTES:Incluimos 2212 pacientes con cáncer colorrectal en estadio II que se sometieron a resección quirúrgica entre enero de 2009 y diciembre de 2012. Los pacientes se clasificaron en grupos de ganglios linfáticos agrandados y no agrandados y se compararon sus datos.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:Se compararon las características clinicopatológicas y los pronósticos de los dos grupos. Los principales resultados medidos fueron la supervivencia sin recurrencia y la supervivencia general.RESULTADOS:El grupo de ganglios linfáticos agrandados mostró una supervivencia general significativamente mejor y una supervivencia libre de recurrencia en los casos pT4b, pero no en los casos pT3 ni pT4a. En los casos de pT4b, el agrandamiento de los ganglios linfáticos (CRI, 0,53; IC 95 %, 0,29-0,98) fue un factor pronóstico independiente para una supervivencia sin recidiva más prolongada, mientras que la lesión rectal (CRI, 3,46; IC 95%, 1,90-6,29) fue un factor pronóstico independiente para RFS más cortos. Los ganglios linfáticos agrandados se relacionaron con una tasa más baja de recurrencia a distancia (CRI, 0,49; IC 95%, 0,26-0,92) y una tendencia a correlacionarse con una mejor supervivencia general (CRI, 0,50; IC 95%, 0,22-1,14).LIMITACIONES:El diseño retrospectivo puede haber aumentado el riesgo de sesgo de selección. La información inadecuada sobre el agrandamiento de los ganglios linfáticos es otra limitación del estudio.CONCLUSIONES:Este estudio mostró que los ganglios linfáticos agrandados están asociados con un pronóstico favorable en pacientes con cáncer colorrectal pT4b en estadio II. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/C246 . ( Traducción - Dr. Mauricio Santamaria ).

Delayed-Onset Organ/Space Surgical Site Infection Worsens Prognosis in High-Risk Stage II and III Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

It is unclear how early- and delayed-onset organ/space surgical site infections (SSIs) affect the long-term prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer, who are potential candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the association between the timing of SSI onset and clinical outcome.

METHODS

This retrospective, multicenter cohort study evaluated patients who were diagnosed with high-risk stage II or III colorectal cancer and underwent elective surgery between 2010 and 2020. Five-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) was the primary endpoint and was compared between early SSI, delayed SSI (divided based on the median date of SSI onset), and non-SSI groups.

RESULTS

A total of 2,065 patients were included. Organ/space SSI was diagnosed in 91 patients (4.4%), with a median onset of 6 days after surgery. The early-onset SSI group had a higher proportion of patients with Clavien-Dindo grade ≥IIIb SSI than the delayed-onset SSI. Patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) had earlier organ/space SSI onset than those who did not. The adjusted hazard ratio of 5-year RFS in the delayed-onset SSI was 2.58 (95% confidence interval: 1.43-4.65; p = 0.002): higher than that in the early-onset SSI, with the non-SSI as the reference.

CONCLUSIONS

Delayed-onset organ/space SSI worsened long-term prognosis compared to early-onset, and this may be due to delayed initiation of AC. Patients who are clinically suspected of having lymph node metastasis might need additional intervention to prevent delays in commencing AC due to the delayed SSI.

Prognostic factors in patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer after curative resection: a post hoc analysis of the JFMC46-1201 trial

PURPOSE

The goal of the current study was to identify prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in high-risk stage II colon cancer.

METHODS

The subjects were patients with histologically confirmed stage II colon cancer undergoing R0 resection who met at least one of the following criteria: T4, perforation/penetration, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, and < 12 examined lymph nodes. Patients self-selected surgery alone or a 6-month oral uracil and tegafur plus leucovorin (UFT/LV) regimen. Serum CEA mRNA at ≥ 24 h after surgery and < 2 weeks after registration was also examined as a potential prognostic factor for stage II colon cancer. This study is registered with UMIN-CTR (protocol ID: UMIN000007783).

RESULTS

1880 were included in the analysis to identify prognostic factors for DFS and OS in patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer. In multivariate analyses, gender, depth of tumor invasion, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (POAC) emerged as significant independent prognostic factors for DFS. Similarly, multivariate analysis showed that age, gender, depth of tumor invasion, perforation/penetration, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and POAC were significant independent prognostic factors for OS. Univariate analyses showed no significant difference in DFS or OS for CEA mRNA-positive and mRNA-negative cases.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that gender, depth of tumor invasion, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and lack of use of POAC were significant independent prognostic factors in stage II colon cancer.

The value of carcinoembryonic antigen stage in staging, prognosis, and management of colorectal cancer: results from two cohort studies

Background

Combining the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (C stage) with TNM staging can provide a more comprehensive prognostic assessment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the clinical value of incorporating CEA status into the TNM staging system needs to be evaluated.

Methods

We used the SEER database (N = 49,350) and a retrospective cohort from China (N = 1,440). A normal CEA level was staged as C0 and an elevated CEA level was staged as C1. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to examine the dose-response relationship between the CEA level and survival. The Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test was used to plot survival curves. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models with forward stepwise variable selection were used to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Patients with C1 were more likely to have advanced disease than those with C0. CEA on a continuous scale was positively associated with mortality risk. Compared with patients with C0 stage, those with C1 stage had significantly lower survival rates. In the SEER dataset, C1 was independently associated with poor prognosis in patients with CRC, with an approximately 70% increased risk of mortality. Patients with C1 stage had significantly lower survival than those with C0 stage at all clinical stages. Incorporating the C stage into the TNM staging refined the prediction of prognosis of patients with CRC, with a gradual decline in prognosis from stage I C0 to stage IV C1. A similar pattern was observed in the present retrospective cohort study. At each lymph node stage, patients with C1 had significantly lower 5-year survival rates than patients with C0. Compared with lymph node positivity, CEA positivity may have a stronger correlation with a worse prognosis.

Conclusion

Our findings not only validated the independent prognostic significance of CEA in CRC but also demonstrated its enhanced prognostic value when combined with TNM staging. Our study provides evidence supporting the inclusion of C stage in the TNM staging system.

PTEN-induced kinase 1 gene single-nucleotide variants as biomarkers in adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Fluoropyrimidine-based postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is globally recommended for high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer. However, adjuvant chemotherapy is often associated with severe adverse events and is not highly effective in preventing recurrence. Therefore, discovery of novel molecular biomarkers of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to identify patients at increased risk of recurrent colorectal cancer is warranted. Autophagy (including mitophagy) is activated under chemotherapy-induced stress and contributes to chemotherapy resistance. Expression of autophagy-related genes and their single-nucleotide polymorphisms are reported to be effective predictors of chemotherapy response in some cancers. Our goal was to evaluate the relationship between single-nucleotide variants of autophagy-related genes and recurrence rates in order to identify novel biomarkers that predict the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

METHODS

We analyzed surgical or biopsy specimens from 84 patients who underwent radical surgery followed by fluoropyrimidine-based adjuvant chemotherapy at Saitama Medical University International Medical Center between January and December 2016. Using targeted enrichment sequencing, we identified single-nucleotide variants and insertions/deletions in 50 genes, including autophagy-related genes, and examined their association with colorectal cancer recurrence rates.

RESULTS

We detected 560 single-nucleotide variants and insertions/deletions in the target region. The results of Fisher's exact test indicated that the recurrence rate of colorectal cancer after adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly lower in patients with the single-nucleotide variants (c.1018G > A [p < 0.005] or c.1562A > C [p < 0.01]) of the mitophagy-related gene PTEN-induced kinase 1.

CONCLUSIONS

The two single-nucleotide variants of PINK1 gene may be biomarkers of non-recurrence in colorectal cancer patients who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

Interaction analysis of high-risk pathological features on adjuvant chemotherapy survival benefit in stage II colon cancer patients: a multi-center, retrospective study

BACKGROUND

We aimed to analyze the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk stage II colon cancer patients and the impact of high-risk factors on the prognostic effect of adjuvant chemotherapy.

METHODS

This study is a multi-center, retrospective study, A total of 931 patients with stage II colon cancer who underwent curative surgery in 8 tertiary hospitals in China between 2016 and 2017 were enrolled in the study. Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess the risk factors of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) and to test the multiplicative interaction of pathological factors and adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). The additive interaction was presented using the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). The Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot (STEPP) was utilized to assess the interaction of continuous variables on the ACT effect.

RESULTS

A total of 931 stage II colon cancer patients were enrolled in this study, the median age was 63 years old (interquartile range: 54-72 years) and 565 (60.7%) patients were male. Younger patients (median age, 58 years vs 65 years; P < 0.001) and patients with the following high-risk features, such as T4 tumors (30.8% vs 7.8%; P < 0.001), grade 3 lesions (36.0% vs 22.7%; P < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (22.1% vs 6.8%; P < 0.001) and perineural invasion (19.4% vs 13.6%; P = 0.031) were more likely to receive ACT. Patients with perineural invasion showed a worse OS and marginally worse DFS (hazardous ratio [HR] 2.166, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.282-3.660, P = 0.004; HR 1.583, 95% CI 0.985-2.545, P = 0.058, respectively). Computing the interaction on a multiplicative and additive scale revealed that there was a significant interaction between PNI and ACT in terms of DFS (HR for multiplicative interaction 0.196, p = 0.038; RERI, -1.996; 95%CI, -3.600 to -0.392) and OS (HR for multiplicative interaction 0.112, p = 0.042; RERI, -2.842; 95%CI, -4.959 to -0.725).

CONCLUSIONS

Perineural invasion had prognostic value, and it could also influence the effect of ACT after curative surgery. However, other high-risk features showed no implication of efficacy for ACT in our study.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03794193 (04/01/2019).

Cost-effectiveness of different chemotherapy strategies for high-risk stage Ⅱ colon cancer

BACKGROUND

The incidence and death rates of colon cancer have been increasing year by year. Currently, most guidelines only recommend chemotherapy for stage Ⅱ colon cancer patients with high risk factors. However, treatment decisions are often influenced by resource constraints and cost, so it is important to evaluate the benefits of chemotherapy by cost-effectiveness analysis.

AIM

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with high-risk stage Ⅱ colon cancer.

METHODS

Two Markov models were established using Treeage Pro 2011 software to represent the chemotherapy period and follow-up period. Health outcomes were measured as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used as the evaluation index of the economic benefits of the treatment strategy, and the sensitivity analysis was performed on the results.

RESULTS

Based on the disease free survival (DFS) curve, patients with stage Ⅱ colon cancer could benefit from chemotherapy (P < 0.0001). Compared with observation alone, the incremental cost of the folinic acid/5-fluorouracil/oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) regimen was 27917.36 yuan, the incremental effectiveness was 1.47 QALYs, and the ICER was 18913.88 yuan/QALY. When willingness-to-pay = 216600 yuan, Monte Carlo simulation analysis indicated that the FOLFOX regimen had a cost-effective probability of 100% compared to the observation group.

CONCLUSION

FOLFOX regimen is a more affordable option in China for patients with high-risk stage Ⅱ colon cancer.

Management and pharmacotherapy of pediatric colorectal carcinoma: a review

INTRODUCTION

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most common tumors in adult, but is extremely rare in children. In childhood, CRC often presents unfavorable aggressive histotypes, advanced clinical stage at onset and a worse prognosis. Pediatric CRC series are limited and include few patients, therefore information about treatment strategy and pharmacotherapy is scarce. For this reason, management of these patients represents a real challenge for pediatric oncologists.

AREAS COVERED

The authors provide an overview of the general features and management strategies of pediatric CRC with specific attention to systemic treatment. Literature data regarding pharmacotherapy in published pediatric series are summarized and analyzed in detail, according to adult treatment standards.

EXPERT OPINION

In the absence of specific recommendations for pediatric CRC, the general therapeutic strategy should follow the same principles as for adults and should be the result of a multidisciplinary discussion. Patient access to optimal treatment is difficult due to the lack of new drugs approved for the pediatric age group and non-availability of clinical trials. Collaboration between pediatric and adult oncologists is considered crucial in order to overcome these issues and find solutions to increase knowledge and improve the outcome of such a rare disease in children.

Prognostic evaluation of cancer associated fibrosis and tumor budding in colorectal cancer

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the second most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although the staging system provides a standardized guidance in treatment regimens, the clinical outcome in patients with colon cancer at the same TNM stage may vary dramatically. Thus, for better predictive accuracy, further prognostic and/or predictive markers are required. Patients who underwent curative surgery for colorectal cancer in past 3 years at a tertiary care hospital were retrospectively included in this cohort study to evaluate the prognostic indicators, tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) and tumor budding (TB) on histopathological sections and correlated them with pTNM staging, histopathological grading, tumor size, and lymphovascular and perineural invasion in patients with colo-rectal cancer. TB was strongly associated with advanced stage of the disease along with lympho-vascular and peri-neural invasion and it can be used as an independent adverse prognostic factor. TSR showed a better sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV as compared to TB in patients having poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma than those with moderately or well differentiated.

Development and Validation of a 15-gene Expression Signature with Superior Prognostic Ability in Stage II Colorectal Cancer

Currently, there is no consensus about the use of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage II colorectal cancer. Here, we aimed to identify and validate a prognostic mRNA expression signature for the stratification of patients with stage II colorectal cancer according to their risk for relapse. First, publicly available mRNA expression profiling datasets from 792 primary, stage II colorectal cancers from six different training cohorts were analyzed to identify genes that are consistently associated with patient relapse-free survival (RFS). Second, the identified gene expression signature was experimentally validated using NanoString technology and computationally refined on primary colorectal cancer samples from 205 patients with stage II colorectal cancer. Third, the refined signature was validated in two independent publicly available cohorts of 166 patients with stage II colorectal cancer. Bioinformatics analysis of training cohorts identified a 61-gene signature that was highly significantly associated with RFS (HR = 37.08, P = 2.68*10-106, sensitivity = 89.29%, specificity = 89.61%, and AUC = 0.937). The experimental validation and refinement revealed a 15-gene signature that robustly predicted relapse in three independent cohorts: an in-house cohort (HR = 20.4, P = 8.73*10-23, sensitivity = 90.32%, specificity = 80.99%, AUC = 0.812), GSE161158 (HR = 5.81, P = 3.57*10-4, sensitivity = 64.29%, specificity = 81.67%, AUC = 0.796), and GSE26906 (HR = 7.698, P = 7.26*10-8, sensitivity = 61.54%, specificity = 78.33%, AUC = 0.752). In the pooled training cohort, the 15-gene signature (HR = 4.72, P = 7.76*10-25, sensitivity = 75%, specificity = 67.44%, AUC = 0.784) was superior to the Oncotype DX colon 7-gene signature (HR = 2.698, P = 6.3*10-8, sensitivity = 62.16%, specificity = 55.5%, AUC = 0.633). We report the identification and validation of a novel mRNA expression signature for robust prognostication and stratification of patients with stage II colorectal cancer, with superior performance in the analyzed validation cohorts when compared with clinicopathologic biomarkers and signatures currently used for stage II colorectal cancer prognostication.

Significance

We identified and validated a 15-gene expression signature for robust prognostication and stratification of patients with stage II colorectal cancer, with superior performance when compared with currently used biomarkers. Therefore, the 15-gene expression signature has the potential to improve the prognostication and treatment decisions for patients with stage II colorectal cancer.

Is High-Grade Tumor Budding an Independent Prognostic Factor in Stage II Colon Cancer?

BACKGROUND

Risk factors, including lymphatic, vascular, and perineural invasion, are considered indications for adjuvant treatment in stage II colon cancer. However, tumor budding is not included in the above risk factors.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the value of tumor budding as a prognostic factor in stage II colon cancer.

DESIGN

This is a retrospective cohort study.

SETTINGS

This study was conducted in a tertiary referral center.

PATIENTS

This study examined 1390 patients with stage II colon cancer who received curative resection from 2007 to 2013 at an institution.

INTERVENTIONS

These patients were classified according to tumor budding status: low-grade tumor budding (less than 10 buds) and high-grade tumor budding (10 buds or more). Differences between the 2 groups were corrected by propensity score matching.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Disease-free survival and overall survival were the primary end points.

RESULTS

Among 1390 patients, 146 (10.5%) had high-grade tumor budding. The high-grade tumor budding group showed adverse histological characteristics such as advanced T stage, histological grade of differentiation, and presence of lymphatic/perineural invasion. After matching, the 5-year disease-free survival rate for the high-grade tumor budding group was significantly lower than for the low-grade group. We also compared survival outcomes according to tumor budding grade for patients who did not have risk factors and did not receive adjuvant treatment. The 5-year overall survival was similar between the 2 groups. However, the 5-year disease-free survival decreased significantly in the high-grade tumor budding group than in the low-grade tumor budding group.

LIMITATIONS

This was a retrospective study with a single-center design.

CONCLUSIONS

High-grade tumor budding is a poor prognostic factor in stage II colon cancer and is considered one of the risk factors for adjuvant treatment. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B962 .

ES LA GEMACIN TUMORAL UN FACTOR PRONSTICO INDEPENDIENTE EN EL CNCER DE COLON EN ESTADIO II

ANTECEDENTES:Los factores de riesgo, incluida la invasión linfática/vascular/perineural, se consideran indicaciones para el tratamiento adyuvante en el cáncer de colon en estadio II. Sin embargo, la gemación tumoral (desdiferenciación tumoral aislada), no está incluida en los factores de riesgo anteriores.OBJETIVO:El objeto de este estudio fue evaluar el valor de la gemación tumoral como factor pronóstico en el cáncer de colon en estadio II.DISEÑO:Este es un estudio de cohorte retrospectivo.ENTORNO CLÍNICO:Este estudio se realizó en un centro de referencia terciario.PACIENTES:Este estudio analizó 1390 pacientes con cáncer de colon en estadio II que recibieron una resección curativa entre 2007 y 2013 en una institución.INTERVENCIONES:Estos pacientes se clasificaron según el estado de gemación tumoral: gemación tumoral de bajo grado (<10 yemas) y gemación tumoral de alto grado (≥10 yemas). Las diferencias entre los dos grupos se corrigieron mediante el emparejamiento por puntaje de propensión.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE VALORACIÓN:La supervivencia libre de enfermedad y la supervivencia global fueron los puntos finales primarios.RESULTADOS:Entre 1.390 pacientes, 146 (10,5%) tenían brotes tumorales de alto grado. El grupo de gemación tumoral de alto grado mostró características histológicas adversas como estadio T avanzado, grado histológico de diferenciación y presencia de invasión linfática/perineural. Después del emparejamiento, la tasa de supervivencia libre de enfermedad a cinco años para el grupo de brotes de tumores de alto grado fue significativamente menor que para el grupo de bajo grado. También comparamos los resultados de supervivencia según el grado de gemación del tumor para pacientes que no tenían factores de riesgo y que no recibieron tratamiento adyuvante. La supervivencia global a cinco años fue similar entre los dos grupos. Sin embargo, la supervivencia libre de enfermedad a cinco años disminuyó significativamente en el grupo de brotes de tumores de alto grado que en el grupo de brotes de tumores de bajo grado.LIMITACIONES:Este fue un estudio retrospectivo con un diseño de centro único.CONCLUSIÓNES:La gemación tumoral de alto grado es un factor de mal pronóstico en el cáncer de colon estadio II y se considera uno de los factores de riesgo para el tratamiento adyuvante. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B962 . (Traducción-Dr. Ingrid Melo ).

Colorectal cancer and therapy response: a focus on the main mechanisms involved

Introduction

The latest GLOBOCAN 2021 reports that colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Most CRC cases are sporadic and associated with several risk factors, including lifestyle habits, gut dysbiosis, chronic inflammation, and oxidative stress.

Aim

To summarize the biology of CRC and discuss current therapeutic interventions designed to counteract CRC development and to overcome chemoresistance.

Methods

Literature searches were conducted using PubMed and focusing the attention on the keywords such as "Current treatment of CRC" or "chemoresistance and CRC" or "oxidative stress and CRC" or "novel drug delivery approaches in cancer" or "immunotherapy in CRC" or "gut microbiota in CRC" or "systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials" or "CSCs and CRC". The citations included in the search ranged from September 1988 to December 2022. An additional search was carried out using the clinical trial database.

Results

Rounds of adjuvant therapies, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy are commonly planned to reduce cancer recurrence after surgery (stage II and stage III CRC patients) and to improve overall survival (stage IV). 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in combination with other cytotoxic drugs, is the mainstay to treat CRC. However, the onset of the inherent or acquired resistance and the presence of chemoresistant cancer stem cells drastically reduce the efficacy. On the other hand, the genetic-molecular heterogeneity of CRC often precludes also the efficacy of new therapeutic approaches such as immunotherapies. Therefore, the CRC complexity made of natural or acquired multidrug resistance has made it necessary the search for new druggable targets and new delivery systems.

Conclusion

Further knowledge of the underlying CRC mechanisms and a comprehensive overview of current therapeutic opportunities can provide the basis for identifying pharmacological and biological barriers that render therapies ineffective and for identifying new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for advanced and aggressive CRC.

Combining perineural invasion with staging improve the prognostic accuracy in colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Current guidelines only propose the importance of perineural invasion(PNI) on prognosis in stage II colon cancer. However, the prognostic value of PNI in other stages of colorectal cancer (CRC) is ambiguous.

METHODS

This single-center retrospective cohort study included 3485 CRC patients who underwent primary colorectal resection between January 2013 and December 2016 at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Associations of PNI with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. In addition, interaction analyses were performed to explore the prognostic effects of PNI in different clinical subgroups.

RESULTS

After median follow-up of 61.9 months, we found PNI was associated with poorer OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.290; 95% CI, 1.087-1.531) and DFS (aHR, 1.397; 95% CI, 1.207-1.617), irrespective of tumor stage. Interestingly, the weight of PNI was found second only to incomplete resection in the nomogram for risk factors of OS and DFS in stage II CRC patients. Moreover, OS and DFS were insignificantly different between stage II patients with PNI and stage III patients (both P > 0.05). PNI was found to be an independent prognostic factor of DFS in stage III CRC (aHR: 1.514; 95% CI, 1.211-1.892) as well. Finally, the adverse effect of PNI on OS was more significant in female, early-onset, and diabetes-negative patients than in their counterparts (interaction P = 0.0213, 0.0280, and 0.0186, respectively).

CONCLUSION

PNI was an important prognostic factor in CRC, more than in stage II. The survival of patients with stage II combined with perineural invasion is similar with those with stage III. PNI in stage III CRC also suggests a worse survival.

Risk factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Recurrences are the main reasons for unfavorable outcomes for patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC). To obtain a clear understanding of the high-risk factors, further investigation is warranted. The present study aimed to analyze the risk factors associated with postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II CRC.

METHODS

Eligible patients with pathologically confirmed stage II CRC were enrolled in the study retrospectively based on a prospectively maintained database from April 2008 to March 2019. The Kaplan-Meier method were used to calculate the overall survival (OS) rate and the cumulative recurrence rate. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for recurrence.

RESULTS

There were 2515 patients included, of whom 233 (9.3%) developed local or distant recurrence. Recurrence was associated with a significantly worse 5-year OS (45.4% vs. 95.5%, p < 0.0001). The 5-year cumulative recurrence rate was 13.0% in patients with stage II CRC. On multivariable Cox analysis, tumor size (Hazard Ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 1.79[1.38, 2.33]), preoperative carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 level (HR [95% CI] = 1.78[1.17, 2.70]), preoperative CA 199 level (HR [95% CI] = 1.56[1.09, 2.22]), and ulcerating tumor (HR [95% CI] = 1.61[1.19, 2.17]) were found to be associated with postoperative recurrence. Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a lower cumulative recurrence rate in patients with these risk factors (p = 0.00096).

CONCLUSION

The tumor diameter, preoperative CA125 level, preoperative CA199 level, and an ulcerative tumor can predict postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II CRC, and postoperative chemotherapy could reduce the cumulative recurrence rate in patients with these high-risk factors.