Abstract:

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate retrospec­tively demographic, epidemiological, clinical features, and the factors affecting survival of patients with colorectal can­cer who were followed up in our clinic. Methods: A total of 767 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, treated and followed up in Dicle University Medical Faculty, Department of Medical Oncology, between 2000 and 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. Results: A total of 767 patients [335 women (43.7%) and 432 men (56.3%)] were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 54 (range, 11-94). According to the stage of the tumor in 725 patients, 57 (7.9%) patients were in stage I, 230 (31.7) were in stage II, 248 (34.2) were in stage III and 190 (26.2%) were in stage IV. The median follow-up time for all the patients was 24.8 months (range: 1.5-154.1 months). There were recurrence or progression in 275 patients (35.9%) and there were death in 184 pa­tients (24%). Disease free survival (DFS) rates of 81%, 62% and 29%, respectively. The 1, 3 and 5 yearly overall survival (OS) rates were 88%, 74% and 49%, respectively. When we evaluated the patients according to the age group, un­der 60 years of age was better than over 60 years in term of DFS and OS (p=0.053 and p=0.024). A statistically sig­nificant difference was observed in the survival rates (DFS and OS) related to the stage of the disease. (p<0.001 and p<0.001). Degree of tumor differentiation was effective on DFS (p=0.027). In the multivariate cox analysis, the stage was seen as a significant independent factor in both OS and DFS (p<0.001, p<0.001). Conclusion: The majority of the patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer consisted of locally advanced patients and metastatic stage (60.4%) in our region. Stage, histolog­ical grade and age were found as effective prognostic fac­tor on both overall and disease-free survival. In multivariate analysis, the stage was found as independent prognostic factor on both overall and disease-free survival.

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