Table 2. Demographics and baseline characteristics.
| N | % | |
|---|---|---|
|
Gender | ||
| Male | 108 | 56.5 |
| Female | 83 | 43.5 |
| Age (yrs) (median & range) | 63 | 31–80 |
|
ECOG performance status | ||
| 0 | 81 | 42.4 |
| 1–2 | 110 | 57.6 |
|
Tumour differentiation | ||
| Well or moderately differentiated | 163 | 85.3 |
| Poorly differentiated | 20 | 10.5 |
| Missing | 8 | 4.2 |
|
Tumour locationa | ||
| High rectum | 69 | 36.1 |
| Mid rectum | 78 | 40.8 |
| Low rectum | 44 | 23.0 |
| Length of tumoura (mm) (mean & s.d.) | 54.4 | 15.8 |
|
T stagea | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2.6 |
| 3b | 144 | 75.4 |
| 4 | 42 | 22.0 |
|
N stagea | ||
| 0 | 61 | 31.9 |
| 1 | 64 | 33.5 |
| 2 | 66 | 34.6 |
| MRF threatened/involveda | 111 | 58.1 |
| EMVI positivea | 136 | 71.2 |
Abbreviations: ECOG=Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; EMVI=extramural venous invasion; MRF=mesorectal fascia; mrTRG=magnetic resonance tumour regression grade; pTRG=pathological tumour regression grade; s.d.=standard deviation.
a
Assessed by MRI (high: >10 cm from the anal verge; mid: >5–10 cm from the anal verge; low: ≤5 cm from the anal verge).
b
117/144 (81.3%) patients with T3 tumours had >5 mm mesorectal infiltration (i.e., T3c or T3d tumours).