Prognostic Impact and Clinicopathological Features of Multiple Colorectal Cancers and Extracolorectal Malignancies: A Nationwide Retrospective Study

Introduction: Multiple primary malignancies (MPMs) are likely to develop in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC); however, their prognoses are unclear. This study aims to investigate the prognostic impacts and clinicopathological features of multiple CRCs and extracolorectal malignancies (EMs) with CRC. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 22,628 patients with stage I-III CRC who underwent curative resection at 24 referral institutes in Japan between January 2004 and December 2012. MPMs were classified as synchronous CRCs (SCRCs), metachronous CRCs, synchronous EMs (SEMs), and metachronous EMs. Results: The presence of SCRCs (odds ratio 1.54, p < 0.001) was independently associated with SEMs in the multivariate analyses. SEMs were the strongest poor prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.21, p < 0.001) and RFS (HR 1.69, p < 0.001) compared with age, sex, and primary T and N factors. The incidence of stomach cancer was the highest in EMs, followed by lung, breast, and prostate cancers. Multiple CRCs were evenly distributed throughout the right-side colon to the rectum. Discussion/Conclusion: SEMs were a strong poor prognostic factor for patients with stage I-III CRC. Patients with CRC, particularly those with SCRCs, should be surveyed for SEMs, especially for stomach and lung cancers.

Automated summary

The presence of synchronous colorectal cancers (SCRCs) was associated with synchronous extracolorectal malignancies (SEMs), which were found to be the strongest poor prognostic factor for patients with stage I-III colorectal cancer. Stomach cancer had the highest incidence among extracolorectal malignancies, and multiple colorectal cancers were evenly distributed throughout the colon.