Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Category | No. (%) of patients |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 111 (61.7) |
| Female | 69 (38.3) |
| Age, yr | |
| < 65 | 117 (65.0) |
| ≥ 65 | 63 (35.0) |
| Distance from anal verge, cm | |
| < 7 | 111 (61.7) |
| ≥ 7 | 69 (38.3) |
| Type of surgery | |
| APR | 69 (38.3) |
| LAR | 111 (61.7) |
| pT stage | |
| T1–2 | 14 (7.8) |
| T3 | 62 (34.4) |
| T4a | 83 (46.1) |
| T4b | 21 (11.7) |
| pN stage | |
| N1a | 10 (5.6) |
| N1b | 36 (20.0) |
| N1c | 12 (6.7) |
| N2a | 35 (19.4) |
| N2b | 41 (22.8) |
| TNM stage | |
| IIB/IIC | 46 (25.6) |
| IIIA | 6 (3.3) |
| IIIB | 66 (36.7) |
| IIIC | 62 (34.4) |
| Margin status | |
| Positive | 4 (2.2) |
| Negative | 176 (97.8) |
| LNs examined | |
| < 12 | 83 (46.1) |
| ≥ 12 | 97 (53.9) |
| Adjuvant treatment | |
| Chemotherapy | 67 (37.2) |
| Radiotherapy | 9 (5.0) |
| Chemoradiation | 92 (51.1) |
| None | 12 (6.7) |
APR = abdominoperitoneal resection; LAR = low anterior resection; pN = metastasis classification of lymph nodes; pT = primary tumour classification; TNM = tumour-node-metastasis.