Prognostic Factors Affecting Recurrence and Disease-Free Survival After Surgical Resection for Cancer Rectum

Tumor recurrence after curative surgical resection for rectal cancer is a serious complication that greatly affects the overall morbidity and the outcome. This study aims to identify the different prognostic factors affecting recurrence and disease-free survival after surgery.

A retrospective analysis of patients operated for cancer rectum with curative intent from. Exclusion criteria will include patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, multiple synchronous or metachronous rectal cancers, and death within 3 months. Incomplete patients' files and patients that lost follow-up will be excluded. Demographic, histopathological, follow up and outcome data will be collected from completed patients' files. Demographics include age, gender, family history, and chief complaint at the presentation. Histopathological data include tumor grade, vascular-perineural invasion, the total number of lymph nodes removed, and positive lymph nodes. Lymph node ratio will be defined as the ratio of positive lymph nodes to the total number of retrieved lymph nodes in a histopathology specimen. Disease-free survival will be calculated for each patient based on the time of surgery to the time of recurrence detection.