Purpose : About 20% of colorectal cancer patients were diagnosed with stage IV at the initial presentation, and less
than 30% of those could be treated curatively via surgical resection. In this study, we investigated the prognostic
factors for unresectable stage IV colorectal cancer and evaluated the benefit of surgical treatment.
Method : Retrospective analysis of 125 patients diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in Korea Uinversity Guro
Hospital from 2003 to 2006 was performed for patient and tumor characteristics, metastatic status, treatment
modality, and the survival outcome.
Result : Ninety patients were included in analysis for complete follow up data. Median survival was 11.1 month
and estimated 5 year survival rate was 8.1%. Resection of primary lesion was performed in 15.5%, and resection of
primary lesion combined with incomplete resection of metastatic lesion was performed in 8.9%. In multivariate
analysis, peritoneal metastasis, curative resection of primary lesion with metastatic lesion and the resection of
primary lesion combined with the incomplete metastectomy was an independent poor prognostic factor (p<0.05).
Conclusion : Surgical treatment for incurable colorectal cancer could be beneficial in selected condition, and further
prospective studies are required for evaluating surgical role in the multidisciplinary approach of incurable
colorectal cancer.
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