Table 2. Clinical and pathologic characteristics of the chemoradiotherapy responder and chemoradiotherapy non-responder groups.
| Characteristic | Chemoradiotherapy responder group (n = 73) | Chemoradiotherapy non-responder group (n = 79) | P value | ||||||
| No. | % | Mean | SD | No. | % | Mean | SD | ||
| Sex: | 0.814 | ||||||||
| Male | 48 | 65.8 | 49 | 62.0 | |||||
| Female | 25 | 34.2 | 30 | 38.0 | |||||
| Age | 54.71 | 12.0 | 54.82 | 13.2 | 0.957 | ||||
| T stage*: | 0.244 | ||||||||
| T2 | 2 | 2.7 | 3 | 3.8 | |||||
| T3 | 45 | 61.6 | 38 | 48.1 | |||||
| T4b | 26 | 35.6 | 38 | 53.3 | |||||
| N stage*: | 0.552 | ||||||||
| N negative | 19 | 26.0 | 24 | 30.4 | |||||
| N positive | 54 | 74.0 | 55 | 69.6 | |||||
| LN number | 7.32 | 5.3 | 7.85 | 5.4 | |||||
| PNI | 0.014 | ||||||||
| Yes | 73 | 100 | 72 | 91.1 | |||||
| None | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8.9 | |||||
| TD | 0.394 | ||||||||
| Yes | 70 | 95.9 | 72 | 91.1 | |||||
| None | 3 | 4.1 | 7 | 8.9 | |||||
| LVI | 0.143 | ||||||||
| Yes | 84 | 98.8 | 84 | 93.3 | |||||
| None | 1 | 1.2 | 6 | 6.7 | |||||
| Pathology types of ADC | 0.632 | ||||||||
| Highly differentiated | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 | |||||
| Middle differentiated | 62 | 84.9 | 67 | 84.8 | |||||
| Poorly differentiated | 6 | 8.2 | 7 | 13 | |||||
| Undifferentiated | 5 | 6.8 | 4 | 9 | |||||
| Survival status: | 0.755 | ||||||||
| Alive | 57 | 78.1 | 60 | 75.9 | |||||
| Dead | 16 | 21.9 | 19 | 24.1 | |||||
| CEA | 12.3 | 28.8 | 17.0 | 32.8 | 0.349 | ||||
| Ca 19-9 | 21.7 | 35.2 | 44.6 | 117.7 | 0.125 | ||||
| Neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen | 0.957 | ||||||||
| None | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 | |||||
| Capecitabine | 10 | 13.7 | 14 | 17.7 | |||||
| CAPOX | 61 | 83.6 | 58 | 73.4 | |||||
| FOLFOX | 2 | 2.7 | 5 | 6.3 | |||||
| 5-FU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 | |||||
| Neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles: | 0.022 | ||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 | |||||
| 2 | 29 | 39.7 | 47 | 59.5 | |||||
| 3 | 17 | 23.3 | 10 | 12.7 | |||||
| 4 | 27 | 37.0 | 19 | 24.1 | |||||
| Adjuvant chemotherapy regimen | 0.403 | ||||||||
| None | 10 | 13.7 | 12 | 15.2 | |||||
| Capecitabine | 6 | 8.2 | 11 | 13.9 | |||||
| CAPOX | 56 | 76.7 | 52 | 65.9 | |||||
| FOLFOX | 1 | 1.2 | 3 | 3.8 | |||||
| FOLFIRI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 | |||||
| Adjuvant chemotherapy cycles: | 0.747 | ||||||||
| 0 | 10 | 13.7 | 12 | 15.4 | |||||
| 1 | 7 | 9.6 | 6 | 7.7 | |||||
| 2 | 12 | 16.4 | 6 | 7.7 | |||||
| 3 | 9 | 12.3 | 11 | 14.1 | |||||
| 4 | 16 | 21.9 | 16 | 20.5 | |||||
| 5 | 4 | 5.5 | 6 | 7.7 | |||||
| 6 | 14 | 19.2 | 18 | 23.1 | |||||
| 8 | 1 | 1.4 | 3 | 3.8 | |||||
| Surgical procedure: | 0.241 | ||||||||
| AR | 44 | 60.3 | 52 | 65.8 | |||||
| APR | 28 | 38.4 | 23 | 29.1 | |||||
| Hartmann | 1 | 1.4 | 4 | 5.1 | |||||
| TACC3 expression | 0.001 | ||||||||
| Negative | 25 | 34.2 | 7 | 8.9 | |||||
| Weak | 28 | 38.4 | 32 | 40.5 | |||||
| Moderate | 16 | 21.9 | 33 | 41.8 | |||||
| Strong | 4 | 5.5 | 7 | 8.9 | |||||
*The T and N stages were based on preoperative MRI
TRG, tumor regression grading; 5-FU, 5 fluorouracil; AR, anterior resection; APR, abdominal perineal resection; ADC: adenocarcinoma; LN: lymph node; PNI: perineural invasion; LVI: lymphovascular invasion.