J Korean Soc Coloproctol.
2003 Feb;19(1):39-44.
Gender Differences in Patients with Colorectal Cancer
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. stoh@catholic.ac.kr
Abstract
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PURPOSE: Gender differences as prognostic factors in colorectal cancer surgery are still controversial. The prognostic factors for patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery, include the clinicopathological staging and the possibility for curative surgery. The gender difference was suggested due to the difference in the average life span, anatomy, sex-hormones and tumor immunology. Therefore, we investigated the significance of gender factors in the patients with colorectal cancer.
METHODS
The study was performed though retrospective chart review, and included 778 patients who had undergone surgery for the colorectal cancer, between January 1, 1990 and March 31, 1999, at St. Mary's Hospital, Kangnam, Seoul, Korea. The average follow-up period was 24.8 24.4 months. The patients were divided according to their gender, and the prognosis of each group evaluated according to age, stage, characteristics of tumor, recurrence and survival rates, the possibility of curative surgery and the pathological findings.
RESULTS
The males group consisted of 444 cases (57.1%), with a median age of 58.9 12.8 years, and the females group consisted of 334 cases (42.9%), with a median age of 58.2 13.8 years. Thes analyses revealed no significant gender differences in tumor locations, stage and pathological findings. The recurrence rate in the men (120 patients, 27.0%) was higher than (68 patients, 20.4%) in the women (P<0.05). The incidences and ratios of abdominoperineal resections were significantly higher in the men compared to the women, but the five-year survival rates (56.1% in male and 60.1% in female) and the five-year disease free survival rates (44.3% in male and 50.1% in female) showed no significant differences between the sexes (P>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Although the overall survival rates were equal for each genders, different recurrence rates and anatomical differences exist.
