Risk factors of anastomotic leakage and its significance on the survival of rectal cancer patients after low anterior resection

Objective To identify risk factors for anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection (LAR) in rectal cancer patients and study its impact on patients'long-term prognosis.Methods Chnical data were analyzed from 720 patients who underwent low anterior resection(LAR) for rectal cancer between 1996 and 2006.Results Anastomotic leakage after anterior resection occurred in 44 cases(6.1%).The median time of anastomotic leakage after operation was 5.6 days.Muhivariate analysis showed male patients.history of preoperative chemoradiation therapy,diabetes,cancer distance from anus less than 7 cm and hand-sewed anastomosis were independent risk factors predisposing anastomosis leakage (P<0.05).Tumor local recurrence rate was 13.6% in patients suffering from leakage and 5.9% for those without leakage (χ2= 4.116,P<0.05).The distant metastasis rates were 25.0 and 14.1 percent for the leakage and noaleakage groups,respectively(χ2=3.943,P<0.05).The survival rates were 56.8 and 72.5 percent in the leakage and nonleakage groups,respectively(χ2=4.979,P<0.05).Conclusion Sex,preoperative chemoradiation therapy,diabetes,cancer distance from anus less than 7 cm and hand-sewed anastomosis were found to be independent risk factors for anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery.Anastomotic leakage was associated with poor prognosis. Key words: Rectal neoplasms;  Fistula; Risk factor; Survival rate