To address the status of colorectal cancer in Korea, this study evaluated the survival by clinicopathologic variables which were obtained from the records of 369 patients treated in the seven leading hospitals of Seoul, Korea, during the period
from Jan
1, 1985 to Dec 31, 1985. Overall five year survival rate was 60.7%. Median age was 53.0 years old and median duration of symptom was 5.0 months. Fourteen percent of all colorectal cancers were under the age of 40. The median diameter of tumor was
5.0
cm(95% CI; 5.5~6.0 cm). Half of the patients had Borrmann typeⅡ. Early colonic cancer consisted 2.5% of all cancers. Eighty percent of the tumors invaded through the colonic wall. Eighty two percent among the 361 patients had curative or
palliative
resections. Curative resection was possible in 264 patients and its 5 year survial rate was 61.6%. Postoperative adjuvant therapy did not help for the prolongation of survival in Dukes' stage C of these cases. In univariate analyses, the factors
associated with significant outcome were rectal bleeding, obstructive symptoms, preoperative elevation of CEA, type of histopathology, depth of tumor invasion, number of tumor positive lymph nodes, Dukes stage and extent of operation. But
multivariate
analysis with Cox proportional hazard model involving 198 patients identified five factors that were associated with significantly favorable effect on survival: well and moderate differentiated adenocarcinoma, Dukes' stage B2 and C1, none of the
positive node, depth of invasion which confined to proper muscle, curative none of the positive node, depth of invasion which confined to proper muscle, curative resection. Depth of invasion was more important for the survival than the number of
tumor
positive lymph nodes. A staging classification appears feasible to determine outcome in patients with colorectal cancer.
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