Application of the Western-based adjuvant online model to Korean colon cancer patients; a single institution experience

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant Online (AOL) is web-accessible risk-assessment model that predicts the mortality and the benefits of adjuvant therapy (http://www.newadjuvantonline.com). AOL has never been validated for Asian colon cancer patients. METHODS: Using the Yonsei Tumor Registry database, patients who were treated within the Yonsei University Health System between 1990 and 2005 for T1-4, N0-2, and M0 colon cancer were included in the calculations for survival. Observed and predicted 5-year overall survival was compared for each patient. RESULTS: The median age of the study population of 1431 patients was 60 years (range, 15–87 years), and the median follow-up duration was 7.9 years (range, 0.06–19.8 years). The predicted 5-year overall survival rate (77.7%) and observed survival (79.5%) was not statistically different (95% Confidential interval, 76.3–81.5) in all patients. Predicted outcomes were within 95% confidential interval of observed survival in both stage II and III disease, including most demographic and pathologic subgroups. Moreover, AOL more accurately predicted OS for patients with stage II than stage III. CONCLUSIONS: AOL tended to offer reliable prediction for 5-year overall survival and could be used as a decision making tool for adjuvant treatment in Korean colon cancer patients whose prognosis is similar to other Asian patients.