Table 1.

Patient characteristics

	Study population n=146	No participation n=48	Participation in QoL study n=98	P (no participation versus participation)
Age
Mean	65.6	70.3	63.2	0.001
Range	33-92	40-92	33-88
Gender
Female	58	21	38	NS
Male	88	27	60
UICC cancer stage
I (pT1-2 N0 M0)	48	15	33	NS
II (pT3-4 N0 M0)	34	14	20
III (all pT N+ M0)	37	6	31
IV (all pT/N M+)	21	7	14
No UICC classification	6	6	-
ASA grade
I	9	-	9
II	51	10	41	0.055*
III	41	13	28
IV	12	4	8
No classification	33	21	12
Surgical therapy
None	5	5	-
Low anterior resection	89	20	69	<0.001
Rectal extirpation	33	10	23
Other	19	13	6
Postoperative adjuvant therapy
Yes	46	11	35	NS
No	94	31	63
Not reported	6	6	-
Intention of primary treatment
Curative	118	31	87	<0.001
Palliative	28	17	11

QoL=Quality of life; UICC=International Union Against Cancer; ASA=American Society of Anesthesiologists; NS=not significant

^*Pearson's χ² test for low-risk patients (ASA I+II) versus high-risk patients (ASA III+IV)