Table 2. Initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer patients according to pathological and clinical factors (n=1312).
| Characteristic | Percentage of total cases | Rate of chemotherapy initiation (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 100.0 | 35.1 |
| Pathology | ||
| Site | ||
| Proximal | 53.5 | 33.0 |
| Distal | 46.5 | 37.5 |
| Grade | ||
| Well/moderate | 76.1 | 34.8 |
| Poor | 23.9 | 36.1 |
| T stage | ||
| T1/T2 | 5.0 | 41.6 |
| T3 | 71.0 | 35.8 |
| T4 | 24.0 | 32.1 |
| Nodal status | ||
| N1 | 64.9 | 34.2 |
| N2 | 35.1 | 36.9 |
| Vascular invasion | ||
| Absent | 69.7 | 35.2 |
| Present | 30.3 | 35.0 |
| Perineural invasion | ||
| Absent | 87.7 | 34.3 |
| Present | 12.3 | 41.0 |
| Perforation | ||
| Absent | 91.8 | 35.1 |
| Present | 8.2 | 35.5 |
| Mucinous | ||
| Absent | 73.7 | 35.1 |
| Present | 26.3 | 35.4 |
| Lymphocytic response | ||
| Absent | 85.7 | 34.4 |
| Present | 14.3 | 39.4 |
| Clinical | ||
| Obstruction | ||
| Absent | 86.2 | 35.4 |
| Present | 13.8 | 33.7 |
| Colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy | ||
| Yes | 56.9 | 40.2a |
| No | 43.1 | 28.5 |
| Surgical case load | ||
| Low | 13.8 | 32.0b |
| Medium | 47.4 | 31.2 |
| High | 38.8 | 41.1 |
a
P<0.0001.
b
P<0.002.