Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage II Colorectal Cancer: Determining the Use of Chemotherapy (Preliminary Report)

Purpose. Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy. The post-operative use of chemotherapy is according to the pathological stage. While adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage Ⅲ(Dukes' C)colorectal cancer is standard, its use remains controversial in stage Ⅱ colorectal cancer. This retrospective study evaluated the influence of chemotherapy to the recurrence rate of stage Ⅱ(T3,T4)colorectal cancer patients. Methods. 145 patients undergoing curative resection with diagnosis of stage Ⅱ and stage Ⅲ colorectal cancer from January 1998 through December1999 were divided into three groups. Group 1:20 stage Ⅱ patients, curative surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin; Group 2:71 stage Ⅱ patients, curative surgery only, and; Group 3:54 stage Ⅲ patients. Results. During follow up, the recurrence rate was 5.8% (1 of 17) in Group 1,22.0% (13 of 59) in Group 2,and 27.2%(12 of 44)in Group 3.No statistical difference was evident between the groups. There was a statistical significant increase of recurrence among Group 2 patients whose number of lymph nodes that were examined＜10. Conclusions. The effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in recurrence of stageⅡ patients did not reach statistical significance but showed a decreased recurrence rate. Chemotherapy should be benefit for those patients whose stage of illness maybe underestimated and in whom less than 10 lymph nodes were examined.