High Red Cell Distribution Width Is Associated with Worse Prognosis in Early Colorectal Cancer after Curative Resection: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The association between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and the prognosis of certain cancers has been established. However, RDW is also related to age, nutrition status, and many systemic disorders. Therefore, it is still unclear whether the association is contributed by these confounders. Here, we present a propensity-score match study demonstrating that RDW is an independently negative predictor for overall survival, disease-free survival, and cancer-specific survival in patients with stage I-II colorectal cancer. ABSTRACT: The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a simple and widely available parameter obtained from a complete blood cell count test and is usually used in the analysis of anemia. Recently, studies have discovered the association between RDW and the host inflammatory response of cancer patients. We aimed to determine the prognostic value of RDW in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. 5315 total patients with stage I-II CRC from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 2001 and 2018 were enrolled. The study cohort was divided into two groups using RDW = 13.8 as the cutoff value as determined by receiver operating curve. High RDW had worse overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS), and was also independently related to older age, more advanced tumor stage, lower albumin level, lower hemoglobin level, and more co-morbidities including diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. We performed a propensity-score matched analysis to balance the heterogeneity between the two groups and to reduce the influence of confounding factors that may have compromised the prognosis. High RDW remained a negative predictor of OS (HR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.25–1.78), as well as DFS and CSS. In conclusion, this is the first report using propensity matching to demonstrate the relationship between RDW and the prognosis of early-stage CRC patients.