International Journal of Hematology and Oncology 2024, Vol 34, Num 3 Page(s): 148-154
Prognostic Factors for Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colon Carcinoma

Feride YILMAZ1, Cevriye Ceyda KARABULUT2, Feyyaz Fazil OZDEMIR3, Fazil AYDIN4

1Hacettepe University, Oncology Institute, Department of Medical Oncology
2Provincial Health Directorate, Public Health Department
3Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology
4Private Imperial Hospital, Department of Medical Oncology

Colorectal cancers are the most common cancers of the gastrointestinal system. They rank third after prostate and lung cancer in men and after breast and lung cancer in women. In Turkiye, colon cancer is the third most common among all cancers. In such cancer, beyond the stage of the disease, there are many biological, molecular, genetic, and tissue-related factors that determine the prognosis. Among these, vascular invasion, the number of affected regional lymph nodes, and the levels of preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are prominent factors. In this study, we investigated the personal, clinical, tumoral, metastatic, and treatment characteristics of metastatic colon cancer (MCC) that may be associated with long survival. This study included the data of 103 patients diagnosed with MCC who were followed at the Medical Oncology Department of Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine between 2010 and 2016. In univariate analyses, primary surgery (p< 0.001), targeted therapy (p= 0.01), being less than 65 years old (p=0.02), having normal CEA levels (p= 0.03), and not having elevated platelet counts (p= 0.001) were significant factors associated with prolonged survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that survival was longer in patients who underwent primary surgery (p= 0.001, 95% CI: 0.07–0.52) and had normal or low platelet levels at the time of diagnosis (p= 0.001, 95% CI: 1.77–9.16), regardless of other factors. In patients diagnosed with MCC, those who had primary tumor surgery and had normal or low platelet levels at the time of diagnosis had a better prognosis regardless of other factors. Therefore, prognostic factors are important in MCC, and more comprehensive studies are needed on this subject.