The effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage 2 colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the most common malignant gastrointestinal cancer and the fourth most common cancer throughout the world. Disease staging is performed to select the treatment method. In this interventional study we evaluated the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on local recurrence, distant metastasis and three-year disease free survival in patients with stage 2 colorectal cancer. In this research, patients with stage II colorectal cancer from 2001 to 2006 entered the study. After the surgery, FOLFOX4 chemotherapy regimen was performed and every 3 months ultrasound and CT scan and colonoscopy were assessed using tumor markers in terms of local recurrence and metastasis. Finally, at the end of the third year after chemotherapy, local recurrence, metastasis and survival of patients were analyzed. In this study 40 patients (23 males and 17 females) were studied. After 3 years of follow-up, 2 patients had local recurrence and 7 patients had distant metastasis and 31 patients had nor local recurrence nor distant metastases. In other words, the 3-year disease free survival was 77.5%. In this study, adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colorectal cancer has been led to overall survival and a 3-year disease free survival.