Table I.
Summary of patient characteristics.
| Parameter | Total (n=156) | Consolidation group (n=76) | Control group (n=80) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (range) | 50 (22–70) | 55 (24–80) | 0.129 | |
| Sex | − | |||
| Male | 108 (69.2%) | 57 (75%) | 51 (63.8%) | 0.128 |
| Female | 48 (30.8%) | 19 (25%) | 29 (36.3%) | − |
| Clinical T-stage | 0.130 | |||
| cT3 | 37 (23.7%) | 14 (18.4%) | 23 (28.8%) | − |
| cT4 | 119 (76.3) | 62 (81.6%) | 57 (71.2%) | − |
| Clinical N-stage | 0.539 | |||
| cN0 | 26 (16.7%) | 14 (18.4%) | 12 (15.0%) | − |
| cN1 | 49 (31.4%) | 26 (34.2%) | 23 (28.7%) | − |
| cN2 | 81 (51.9%) | 36 (47.4%) | 45 (56.3%) | − |
| AJCC/UICC stage | 0.567 | |||
| II | 26 (16.7%) | 14 (18.4%) | 12 (15%) | − |
| III | 130 (83.3%) | 62 (81.6%) | 68 (85%) | − |
| Differentiation | 0.186 | |||
| Well differentiated | 24 (15.4%) | 10 (13.2%) | 14 (17.5%) | − |
| Moderately differentiated | 89 (57.1%) | 49 (64.5%) | 40 (50%) | − |
| Poorly differentiated or mucinous adenocarcinoma | 43 (27.5%) | 17 (22.3%) | 26 (32.5%) | − |
| Distance from anorectal verge | 0.307 | |||
| 0–5 cm | 90 (57.7%) | 47 (61.8%) | 43 (53.8%) | − |
| 6–10 cm | 66 (42.3%) | 29 (31.2%) | 37 (46.2%) | − |
| Pretreatment with CEA | 0.312 | |||
| <5 ng/ml | 88 (56.4%) | 46 (60.5%) | 42 (52.3%) | − |
| ≥5 ng/ml | 68 (43.6%) | 30 (39.5%) | 38 (47.5%) | − |
| Neural invasion | 0.221 | |||
| No | 146 (93.5%) | 73 (96.1%) | 73 (91.3%) | − |
| Yes | 10 (6.5%) | 3 (3.9%) | 7 (8.7%) | − |
| Lymph vascular invasion | 0.959 | |||
| No | 152 (97.4%) | 74 (97.4%) | 78 (97.5%) | − |
| Yes | 4 (2.6%) | 2 (2.6%) | 2 (2.5%) | − |
| Interval NCRT and TME | 0.908 | |||
| ≥8 weeks | 89 (57.1) | 43 (56.6%) | 46 (57.5%) | − |
| <8 weeks | 67 (42.9%) | 33 (43.4%) | 34 (42.5%) | − |
| BMI | 0.188 | |||
| ≥25 kg/m2 | 36 (23.1%) | 21 (27.6%) | 15 (18.8%) | − |
| <25 kg/m2 | 120 (76.9%) | 55 (72.4%) | 65 (81.3%) | − |
| Median follow-up time (months) | 30 | 32 | 0.058 |
AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer; UICC, Union for International Cancer Control 2010; CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen; NCRT, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; TME, total mesorectal excision; BMI, body mass index.