Results of long‐term follow‐up after curative resection of Dukes a colorectal cancer

Patients with Dukes A (UICC I) colorectal cancer have a good prognosis after curative resection. It is not known, however, if the outcome is significantly different for UICC la and lb patients or if patients with reduced risks of recurrences can be identified early after surgery. This is of interest, as it would permit a more cost‐effective, patient‐oriented, and tumor stage‐oriented follow‐up program. To study these questions, a prospective follow‐up database, including 1375 patients after curative resection of colorectal cancer, was analyzed. A total of 296 patients with Dukes A colorectal cancer with a median follow‐up of 44 months were studied. Perioperative and follow‐up mortality rates were 3% and 14%, respectively. Recurrent disease developed in 10% of Dukes A patients after a disease‐free interval of 16 months. Significantly more patients suffering from pT2 (UICC Ib) cancer had recurrent disease than patients with pT1 (UICC Ia) cancer (13% vs. 4%; p