Radical Resection of Locally Recurrent Colorectal Cancer Significantly Improves Overall Survival: A Single-Center Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Despite multimodal treatment strategies, locoregional recurrence rates are still significant in colorectal carcinoma (CRC). METHODS: Clinical, pathological, perioperative, and survival data of 203 patients with recurrent CRC enlisted in a prospective database from 1990 to 2011 were analyzed. RESULTS: Median disease-free survival in our cohort of 203 patients was 23 months after resection of the primary tumor. In total, 113 of these patients had surgical therapy with resection of the recurrent tumor. The primary tumor was localized in the rectum in 63 (56%) patients and in the colon in 50 (44%) patients. A complete resection of the recurrent tumor (R0) was achieved in 69 (61%) patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 42 (37%) patients. Postoperative mortality was 2.7%. The median overall survival for R0-resected patients without distant metastasis was 91 months. Those patients had better overall survival compared to patients in whom no complete resection of the recurrent tumor was possible (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference (overall survival) between patients that had R0-resection with systemic metastasis and R1 (p = 0.794) or R2 (p = 0.422) resection. CONCLUSION: Surgical resection of a locally recurrent CRC leads to a substantial long-term survival rate for R0-resected patients.