Rectal Carcinoma: What Induces Local Recurrence?

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 22 Sep 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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It is well known that local recurrence is the most important prognostic factor of rectal carcinoma. However, even after undergoing radical resection of primary tumors and lymph nodes, about 4%-50% of patients with rectal carcinoma were reportedly with local recurrence. Clinicopathologically, the risk factors of local recurrence remain unclear heretofore. Therefore, a group from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital has recently explored the risk factors of local recurrence after curative resection in patients with middle and lower rectal carcinoma.

A research article published on August 14, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Dr. Wu ZY and his colleagues in the department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital reported that local recurrence occurred in 12.5% (7 of 56 cases) of patients with middle and lower rectal carcinoma.

Local recurrence was significantly associated with family history (Chi-square = 3.929, P = 0.047), high CEA level (Chi-square = 4.964, P = 0.026), cancerous perforation (Chi-square = 8.503, P = 0.004), tumor differentiation (Chi-square = 9.315, P = 0.009) and vessel cancerous emboli (Chi-square = 11.879, P = 0.001). Local recurrence rate of patients with positive circumferential resection margin was 33.3% (4/12), whereas it was 6.8% (3/44) in those with negative circumferential resection margin. The difference between these two groups was statistically significant (Chi-square = 6.061, P = 0.014). They concluded that family history, high CEA level, cancerous perforation, tumor differentiation, vessel cancerous emboli and circumferential resection margin status are significant risk factors of local recurrence after curative resection in patients with middle and lower rectal carcinoma. Local recurrence may be more frequent in patients with mesorectal metastasis, compared with patients without mesorectal metastasis. Larger sample investigations are helpful to draw a further conclusion.

In this paper, authors explore the risk factors of local recurrence after curative resection in patients with middle and lower rectal carcinoma. They demonstrated that family history, high CEA level, cancerous perforation, tumor differentiation, vessel cancerous emboli and circumferential resection margin status are significant risk factors. It's an interesting paper.

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Reference: Wu ZY, Wan J, Zhao G, Peng L, Du JL, Yuan Yao, Quan-Fang Liu, Hua-Huan Lin. Risk factors for local recurrence of middle and lower rectal carcinoma after curative resection. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(30): 4805-4809 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/4805.asp

Correspondence to: Dr. Ze-Yu Wu, Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China.

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection. It provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the title China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

Source:Lin-Lin Xiao
World Journal of Gastroenterology

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