Application of Flexible Healing Model in Investigating the Factors Affecting the Survival of Uncured Patients with Colon Cancer

  Surgery is the best treatment for colorectal cancer, but recurrence occurs at a steady rate according to the stage of disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the survival of patients with colon cancer who referred to cancer research center affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, during 2001 to 2011. In this historical cohort study, 146 patients with colon cancer were enrolled. The required information was collected from patients’ medical records. To investigate the factors influencing survival, flexible healing model was used. Data were analyzed by Stata software. Findings: Of 146 patients enrolled in the study, recurrence was observed in 29 cases (19.9%). Median of survival without recurrence was 19.87 months and healing rate was 71%. The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) variable had a significant effect on the survival of uncured patients (P < 0.05). Regarding the obtained regression coefficients, all variables, except for right hemicolectomy, had an increasing effect on healing fraction. The presence of cured people in the data contributes to the flattening of the Kaplan-Meier chart. In such a situation, the use of healing models is appropriate to examine the effect of factors on healing fraction and survival of uncured individuals separately