The Impact of Homologous Packed Red Blood Cell Transfusion on Patients’ Survival after Radical Surgical Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of homologous packed red blood cell transfusion on patients’ survival after radical surgical treatment of colorectal cancer.

We analyzed a group of 257 colorectal cancer patients who had undergone radical operations (R0 resection) and who had been followed-up for at least 30 months.

Overall survival (OS), disease specific survival (DSS), disease free survival (DFS), free of local recurrence survival (FLR) and free of metastases survival (FM) were recorded. 122 (47.5%) patients received packed red blood cells in the peri-operative period (group T), whereas 135 patients did not receive any blood (group NT).

Neither group (T and NT) differed in clinical outcome, non-haemorrhagic complications, cause of death during the follow-up period, or results of surgical treatment.

The fact of packed red blood cell transfusion was not significantly prognostic of outcome in Cox’s multivariate analysis. Also the survival curves of 63 pairs of patients selected from groups T and NT, according to classical prognostic features, had similar courses.

Key Words:

• Colorectal cancer
• blood transfusion

Additional information

Notes on contributors

W. Lobaziewicz

W. Lobaziewicz, M.D. Department of Surgical Oncology Maria-Curie Sklodowska Memorial Institute of Oncology ul. Garncarska 11 31-115 Kraków (Poland) Tel.: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]