Risk factors associated with local recurrence after curative resection for rectal cancer

A retrospective study was conducted to identify the factors related to locoregional recurrence in patients who underwent curative resections for primary rectal cancer between January 1986 and April 1994 at Ankara Oncology Hospital in Turkey. A step-wise logistic regression analysis was applied for 116 patients who had complete follow-up. Age, sex, macroscopic size of the lesion, tumor location in the rectum as determined by the distance from the anal verge, obstruction at presentation, tumor histology, lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, stage according to TNM classification, differentiation of the tumor, surgical treatment modality, radical abdominopelvic lymphadenectomy (RAPL), and blood transfusion were used as the clinico-pathologic variables. Locoregional recurrent disease was found after a mean follow-up period of 52 months in 28 (24.1%) patients, while the median recurrence-free period was 12 months. Univariate analysis demonstrated that age, disease stage, tumor grade, obstruction, RAPL, blood transfusion, and venous and lymphatic invasion were significant risk factors (P<0.05); however, using multivariate analysis, an increased risk for the development of locoregional recurrence was found to be associated with: age (P=0.0052), stage (P=0.0379), blood transfusion (P=0.0276), obstruction (P=0.0035), and RAPL (P=0.0069).