Impact of proximal resection margins on oncologic outcomes for patients with sigmoid colon cancer

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between proximal resection margin (PRM) length and oncologic outcomes in sigmoid colon cancer. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study on patients with sigmoid colon cancer between 1996 and 2009 and treated by curative primary resection. Tumor location was classified into two groups: SDPS, which was located in the proximal sigmoid colon or the sigmoid-descending junction; and MDS, which was located in the mid and distal sigmoid colon. Results: The mean PRM length was 8 cm (range, 6 to 11.5 cm). A total of 132 patients (11.7%) had a PRM<5 cm, which was more common in the SDPS group. Patients with PRMs<5 cm and ≥5 cm did not differ in age, sex, size of tumor, histologic differentiation, stage, and number of harvested lymph nodes. Five-year relapse-free survival (RFS) was not affected by PRM length among patients and was not associated with RFS according to the Cox regression analysis. Conclusion: PRM length was associated with tumor location within the sigmoid colon but not with the oncologic outcome.

Keywords

• sigmoid colon cancer
• proximal resection margin
• oncological outcome