A multivariate analysis of prognostic determinants for stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ colorectal cancer in 141 patients

Background Previous prognosis analyses of colorectal cancer （CRC） patients with stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ disease were done as separate categories. The purpose of this study was to analyze prognostic factors associated with survival in a group of patients who underwent radical resection of stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ CRC.Methods A retrospective review was performed for 141 consecutive stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ patients who had undergone radical resection of coloractal adenocarcinoma between May 2003 and November 2003. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the effect of record variables on disease free survival and overall survival.Results The median follow-up time was 59 months, and the 3-and 5-year survival rates were 76% and 68%,respectively. Four factors were independently associated with a worse disease-free survival： diabetes （hazard ratio （HR） 2.338; 95% confidence interval （CI） 1.011-5.407）, expression of cyclooxygenase-2 （Cox-2） （HR 0.335; 95% CI 0.126-0.888）, expression of matrix metalloproteinases 2 （MMP-2） （FIR 0.233; 95% CI 0.101-0.541）, expression of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） （HR 0.295; 95% CI 0.088-0.996）. Four factors were independently associated with a worse overall survival： lymph nodes metastasis （HR 1.67; 95% CI 1.29-2.14）, Cox-2 positive （HR 0.056; 95% CI 0.247-0.731）, MMP-2 positive （HR 0.398; 95% CI 0.190-0.836）, VEGF （HR 0.364; 95% CI 0.090-0.716）.Conclusions Diabetes, expression of Cox-2, MMP-2 and VEGF were independently associated with a worse diseasefree survival. Lymph nodes metastasis, expression of Cox-2, MMP-2 and high level of VEGF predicted a poor overall survival.