Identification of high-risk factors as indicators for adjuvant therapy in stage II colon cancer patients treated at a single institution

Although post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) is only recommended for patients with stage II colon cancer who are at a high risk of recurrence, the definition of high risk remains unclear. The present study aimed to identify the risk factors for recurrence, which may also be indicators for adjuvant therapy, using a retrospective analysis of clinicopathological data obtained from stage II colon cancer patients who had undergone a curative resection. The present study also investigated the effects of ACT in patients who displayed the risk factors for recurrence. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the data collected from 377 stage II colon cancer patients, treated at Kurume University Hospital (Fukuoka, Japan) between 1982 and 2005, was conducted in order to determine and compare the risk factors for recurrence between the 163 patients who had undergone adjuvant therapy and the 214 patients who had not undergone adjuvant therapy. The risk factors for recurrence in patients who had not undergone adjuvant therapy were a serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level that was twice the cut-off value and pre-operative bowel obstruction. Adjuvant therapy provided no benefit to patients who presented with neither risk factor, but significantly decreased the recurrence rate in patients presenting with one or both risk factors. Based on these findings, serum CEA levels of twice the cut-off value and pre-operative bowel obstruction were proposed as indicators in the assessment for adjuvant chemotherapy following a curative resection for stage II colon cancer. These results warrant further clinical study of ACT in patients with one or both risk factors.