Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with stages II or III rectal cancer by chemoradiation therapy (CRT)—surgery sequence status (pre-operative: pre-op; post-operative: post-op)
| Variable |
Total N=201* |
Pre-op CRT (N=133) |
Post-op CRT (N=68) |
p† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research site affiliation | 0.69 | |||
| Cancer Research Network (Health Maintenance Organization population) | 22% | 26% | ||
| Veterans Affairs Health Care System | 18% | 15% | ||
| Population-based Registry | 60% | 59% | ||
| Female gender | 32% | 34% | 0.83 | |
| Lives alone | 39% | 35% | 0.60 | |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 60% | 59% | 0.96 | |
| African American | 14% | 15% | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 9% | 7% | ||
| Asian | 10% | 9% | ||
| Other | 8% | 10% | ||
| Age group (years) | ||||
| <55 | 36% | 37% | 0.72 | |
| 55–64 | 33% | 28% | ||
| >=65 | 31% | 35% | ||
| Stage III | 42% | 57% | 0.04 | |
| Comorbidities‡ (ACE-27 categories & selected conditions) | ||||
| None | 38% | 38% | ||
| Mild | 38% | 38% | ||
| Moderate | 17% | 16% | ||
| Severe | 8% | 7% | 0.99 | |
| Hypertension | 32% | 38% | 0.35 | |
| Angina/Coronary Artery Disease | 8% | 19% | 0.02 | |
| Arrhythmias | 4% | 0% | 0.17 | |
| Peripheral Artery disease | 5% | 3% | 0.45 | |
| Hepatic disease | 4% | 1% | 0.37 | |
| Obesity | 7% | 10% | 0.38 | |
| Respiratory | 7% | 9% | 0.60 | |
| Stomach/intestine | 8% | 4% | 0.31 | |
| Alcohol abuse | 29% | 18% | 0.07 | |
| Psychiatric disease | 7% | 7% | 1.00 | |
| Staging Procedures | ||||
| Computed Tomography (CT)-abdomen/pelvis | 88% | 78% | 0.06 | |
| Computed Tomography (CT)--chest | 29% | 13% | 0.01 | |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)--pelvis or Endorectal Ultrasound (EUS) | 49% | 25% | <0.01 | |
| Median tumor size (interquartile range) in mm (N=144) | 40 (25,50) | 50 (35,60) | 0.03 | |
| Tumor located at rectosigmoid junction (vs. rectum NOS) (N=199) | 11% | 27% | <0.01 | |
| Visited a medical or radiation oncologist before a surgeon | 44% | 4% | <0.01 | |
| Visited a medical or radiation oncologist and a surgeon prior to initiation of treatment | 71% | 13% | <0.01 | |
*
Total subjects=201 unless otherwise specified.
†
p values calculated based on Chi-square, Fisher’s exact or Wilcoxon rank sum tests as appropriate.
‡
Comorbidities displayed if at least 5 people in one group had documentation of the condition, and were categorized according to the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation – 27 (ACE-27) indicators.