Colorectal cancer survival at an oncologic center in Colombia. A historic cohort study

In Colombia, cancer of the colon is the third most frequent cancer in relation to incidence and mortality. Five-year survival depends on stage at diagnosis, albeit that rate is not known for the country. The aim of the present study was to characterize the overall survival and disease-free survival rates in an adult population with colorectal cancer treated at an oncology center in Medellín, Colombia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The case records of patients with a histologic diagnosis of colorectal cancer, seen within the time frame of 2011 and 2015, were reviewed. The overall survival and disease-free survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. A total of 824 (54.9%) patients with cancer of the colon and 676 (45.1%) with cancer of the rectum were treated. Mean patient age was 63.3 years, female sex predominated (56.3%), and 98.1% of the tumors were adenocarcinomas. The majority of the lesions were stage iii (31.9% in the colon and 35.5% in the rectum) at the time of diagnosis. Surgery was the most frequent treatment in the colon (85.2%) and radiotherapy was the most frequent in the rectum (75.4%). Overall survival at the median follow-up (27.3 months) was 66.7% for cancer of the colon and 63.9% for cancer of the rectum. Disease-free survival at the median follow-up (18.6 months in colon and 14.9 in rectum) was 72.5 and 68.9%, respectively. The clinical characteristics and treatment of patients were similar to those found in other studies. Two-year survival was higher than in other Colombian reports and 5-year survival was lower than that observed in developed countries. El cáncer de colon en Colombia es el tercero más frecuente en incidencia y mortalidad. La supervivencia a 5 años depende del estadio en el momento del diagnóstico, aunque esta no se conoce en el país. El presente estudio busca caracterizar la supervivencia global y libre de enfermedad en población adulta con cáncer colorrectal atendida en un centro oncológico de Medellín (Colombia). Estudio de cohorte retrospectivo. Se revisaron historias clínicas de pacientes atendidos entre 2011 y 2015 con diagnóstico histológico de cáncer colorrectal. Se calcularon las curvas de supervivencia global y libre de enfermedad por el método de Kaplan-Meier. Se atendieron 824 (54.9%) pacientes con cáncer de colon y 676 (45.1%) de recto. La edad media fue 63.3 años, con predominio del sexo femenino (56.3%), y un 98.1% fueron adenocarcinomas. La mayoría eran estadio iii (31.9%