Do Types of Perforation Impact Outcomes in Perforated Stage II/III Colorectal Cancer Patients?

The purpose of this paper is to compare the oncologic outcomes between colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with tumor perforation and those with perforation proximal to the tumor. Medical charts of 39 patients who underwent emergency surgery for colonic perforation related to potentially curable CRC were reviewed. Eighteen patients developed tumor perforation (group A), whereas 21 patients developed perforation proximal to the tumor (group B). Twenty-four patients were pathologic stage II and 15 patients were stage III. There were no significant differences in the clinicopathologic and surgical data, including hospital mortality, between the groups; however, the incidence of diffuse peritonitis was higher in group B than that in group A (P < 0.01). The induction rates of adjuvant chemotherapy for survivors were identical between the 2 groups. Disease-free and overall survival periods did not significantly differ between the groups. Perforation type was not found to be associated with oncologic outcomes in patients with CRC-related perforation.