Descriptive characteristics of colon and rectal cancer recurrence in a Danish population-based study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow chart of the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group patients included in analyses.

Table 1. Characteristics of the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group by cancer type.

Variable	Colon n (%)	Rectum n (%)	Total n (%)
Sex
Females	7070 (51%)	2888 (39%)	9958 (47%)
Males	6752 (49%)	4442 (61%)	11194 (53%)
Age group at surgery date
<55 years	1250 (9.0%)	924 (13%)	2174 (10%)
55–64 years	2825 (21%)	2006 (27%)	4831 (23%)
65–74 years	4538 (33%)	2467 (34%)	7005 (33%)
75–84 years	4060 (29%)	1624 (22%)	5684 (27%)
≥85 years	1149 (8.0%)	309 (4.0%)	1458 (7.0%)
Charlson comorbidity index
Comorbidity 0	8853 (64%)	5260 (72%)	14113 (67%)
Comorbidity 1–2	4066 (29%)	1777 (24%)	5843 (27%)
Comorbidity 3+	903 (7.0%)	293 (4.0%)	1196 (6.0%)
AJCC tumor stage
I	1790 (13%)	1734 (23%)	3524 (17%)
II	6874 (50%)	2982 (41%)	9856 (46%)
III	5158 (37%)	2614 (36%)	7772 (37%)
Lymph nodes with metastasis
None	8664 (63%)	4716 (64%)	13380 (63%)
1–3	3190 (23%)	1611 (22%)	4801 (23%)
4–6	1051 (7.5%)	512 (7.0%)	1563 (7.4%)
7+	917 (6.5%)	491 (7.0%)	1408 (6.6%)
Calendar period for date of cancer diagnosis
2001–2004	4543 (33%)	2533 (35%)	7076 (33%)
2005–2008	5234 (38%)	2801 (38%)	8035 (38%)
2009–2011	4045 (29%)	1996 (27%)	6041 (29%)
Surgical technique
Laparotomy	10122 (73%)	5701 (78%)	15823 (75%)
Laparoscopy	3648 (26%)	1555 (21%)	5203 (24%)
Endoscopy	52 (1.0%)	74 (1.0%)	126 (1.0%)
Surgical urgency
Missing	2 (<0.1%)	1 (<0.1%)	3 (<0.1%)
Elective	12005 (87%)	7247 (99%)	19252 (91%)
Acute	1815 (13%)	82 (1.0%)	1897 (9.0%)
Total	13822 (100%)	7330 (100%)	21152 (100%)

Table 2. Incidence rates and hazard ratios for selected characteristics of colon and rectal cancer patients.

Category	Colon cancerrecurrences	Person-years	Rate per 100years (95% CI)	Colon cancerrecurrence,hazard ratio(95% CI)	Colon cancerrecurrence,adjustedhazard ratio^a(95% CI)	Rectal cancerrecurrences	Person-years	Rate per 100years (95% CI)	Rectal cancerrecurrence,hazard ratio(95% CI)	Rectal cancerrecurrence,adjustedhazard ratio^a(95% CI)
Sex
Females	1550	26,952	5.8 (5.5–6.0)	1.00	1.00	683	11,416	6.0 (5.6–6.4)	1.00	1.00
Males	1648	24,488	6.7 (6.4–7.1)	1.13 (1.06–1.21)	1.02 (0.93–1.12)	1155	16,841	6.9 (6.5–7.3)	1.13 (1.03–1.24)	1.13 (1.01–1.27)
Age group at surgery date
<55 years	370	5156	7.2 (6.5–7.9)	1.00	1.00	300	3722	8.1 (7.2–9.0)	1.00	1.00
55–64 years	766	11,385	6.7 (6.3–7.2)	0.91 (0.80–1.03)	0.86 (0.74–1.01)	554	8390	6.6 (6.1–7.2)	0.82 (0.71–0.94)	0.86 (0.73–1.02)
65–74 years	1085	17,309	6.3 (5.9–6.7)	0.82 (0.73–0.93)	0.85 (0.73–0.99)	616	9487	6.5 (6.0–7.0)	0.78 (0.68–0.89)	0.86 (0.73–1.02)
75–84 years	812	14,292	5.7 (5.3–6.1)	0.71 (0.63–0.81)	0.75 (0.64–0.88)	323	5725	5.6 (5.1–6.3)	0.65 (0.55–0.75)	0.74 (0.61–0.90)
≥85 years	165	3299	5.0 (4.3–5.8)	0.56 (0.46–0.67)	0.64 (0.50–0.82)	45	933	4.8 (3.6–6.5)	0.51 (0.37–0.70)	0.54 (0.35–0.81)
AJCC tumor stage
I	203	7372	2.8 (2.4–3.2)	1.00	1.00	206	7050	2.9 (2.5–3.4)	1.00	1.00
II	1223	27,882	4.4 (4.1–4.6)	1.63 (1.40–1.89)	1.47 (1.22–1.78)	614	12,936	4.7 (4.4–5.1)	1.73 (1.48–2.02)	1.75 (1.44–2.13)
III	1772	16,186	11 (10–11)	3.73 (3.22–4.31)	5.70 (4.61–7.06)	1018	8272	12 (12–13)	4.09 (3.52–4.75)	7.02 (5.58–8.82)
Lymph nodes with metastasis
None	1426	35,255	4.0 (3.8–4.3)	1.00	1.00	820	19,986	4.1 (3.8–4.4)	1.00	1.00
1–3	913	11,023	8.3 (7.8–8.8)	1.94 (1.78–2.11)	0.44 (0.38–0.51)	545	5773	9.4 (8.7–10)	2.23 (2.00–2.49)	0.49 (0.41–0.59)
4–6	418	3119	13 (12–15)	3.02 (2.70–3.36)	0.70 (0.59–0.83)	227	1388	16 (14-19)	3.49 (3.02–4.05)	0.74 (0.59–0.92)
7+	441	2043	22 (20–24)	4.44 (3.99–4.94)	–^b	246	1110	22 (20-25)	4.59 (3.98–5.29)	–^b
Calendar period for date of cancer diagnosis
2001–2004	1284	24,927	5.2 (4.9–5.4)	1.00	1.00	799	13,878	5.8 (5.4–6.2)	1.00	1.00
2005–2008	1307	19,752	6.6 (6.3–7.0)	0.98 (0.91–1.06)	0.96 (0.86–1.07)	735	10,887	6.8 (6.3–7.3)	0.92 (0.83–1.02)	0.95 (0.83–1.08)
2009–2011	607	6761	9.0 (8.3–9.7)	0.84 (0.76–0.93)	0.79 (0.68–0.91)	304	3492	8.7 (7.8–9.7)	0.80 (0.70–0.92)	0.81 (0.67–0.99)
Surgical technique
Laparotomy	2592	41,415	6.3 (6.0–6.5)	1.00	1.00	1543	24,368	6.3 (6.0–6.7)	1.00	1.00
Laparoscopy	600	9731	6.2 (5.7–6.7)	0.74 (0.68–0.81)	0.96 (0.86–1.07)	274	3641	7.5 (6.7–-8.5)	0.86 (0.76–0.98)	0.93 (0.78–1.11)
Endoscopy	6	295	2.0 (0.1–4.5)	0.38 (0.17–0.85)	3.26 (0.50–21.1)	21	247	8.5 (5.5–13)	1.27 (0.83–1.96)	4.29 (0.94–19.5)
Surgical urgency
Elective	2528	45,908	5.5 (5.3–5.7)	1.00	1.00	1806	28,037	6.4 (6.2–6.7)	1.00	1.00
Acute	670	5515	12 (11–13)	2.09 (1.91–2.27)	1.89 (1.65–2.17)	32	217	15 (10–21)	2.18 (1.53–3.09)	1.85 (1.07–3.20)

^a Hazard ratio adjusted for categories of sex, age, Charlson comorbidity score, tumor stage, main surgical procedure type, number of metastatic lymph nodes, calendar period of cancer diagnosis, surgical technique, and surgical urgency.

^bNo estimation due to lack of model convergence.

Table 3. Cumulative incidence and proportions of late recurrences of colon and rectal cancer patients.

Category	Five-year cumulativeincidence of coloncancer recurrence(95% CI)	Ten-year cumulativeincidence of coloncancer recurrence(95% CI)	Proportion of latecolon cancerrecurrences^a	Five-year cumulativeincidence of rectalcancer recurrence(95% CI)	Ten-year cumulativeincidence of rectalcancer recurrence(95% CI)	Proportion of laterectal cancerrecurrences^a
Sex
Females	23% (22%–24%)	27% (25%–28%)	6.0%	25% (23%–26%)	29% (27%–31%)	7.2%
Males	26% (25%–27%)	30% (28%–31%)	5.5%	27% (26%–28%)	32% (30%–33%)	6.9%
Age group at surgery date
<55 years	30% (28%–33%)	35% (32%–38%)	5.1%	34% (31%–37%)	40% (36%–44%)	6.3%
55–64 years	28% (26%–30%)	34% (32%–36%)	8.0%	28% (26%–31%)	34% (31%–37%)	7.8%
65–74 years	25% (24%–27%)	29% (28%–31%)	5.4%	26% (24%–28%)	30% (28%–33%)	6.8%
75–84 years	21% (20%–22%)	24% (22%–26%)	5.2%	21% (19%–23%)	24% (22%–27%)	6.8%
≥85 years	16% (14%–18%)	16% (14%–19%)	1.8%	15% (11%–20%)	18% (13%–23%)	6.7%
AJCC tumor stage
I	12% (10%–14%)	17% (14%–21%)	10%	13% (12%–15%)	16% (13%–18%)	5.8%
II	18% (17%–19%)	22% (21%–24%)	8.4%	20% (19%–22%)	26% (24%–28%)	12%
III	36% (35%–38%)	40% (38%–41%)	3.4%	41% (39%–43%)	45% (43%–47%)	4.2%
Lymph nodes with metastasis
None	17% (16%–18%)	21% (20%–22%)	8.7%	18% (17%–19%)	23% (21%–24%)	10%
1–3	30% (29%–32%)	34% (32%–36%)	4.4%	35% (33%–38%)	39% (37%–42%)	5.5%
4–6	42% (39%–46%)	45% (42%–49%)	2.4%	47% (42%–52%)	52% (46%–57%)	4.0%
7+	50% (47%–54%)	54% (50%–58%)	2.3%	54% (49%–59%)	57% (51%–61%)	1.6%
Calendar period for date of cancer diagnosis
2001–2004	25% (24%–26%)	29% (28%–30%)	11%	28% (26%–29%)	32% (30%–34%)	13%
2005–2008	25% (24%–26%)	–^b	–^b	26% (24%–27%)	–^b	–^b
2009–2011	–^b	–^b	–^b	–^b	–^b	–^b
Surgical technique
Laparotomy	26% (25%–26%)	29% (28%–30%)	6.7%	27% (25%–28%)	31% (30%–32%)	8.1%
Laparoscopy	20% (19%–22%)	22% (20%–24%)	1.5%	23% (20%–26%)	–^b	–^b
Endoscopy	11% (3.9%–22%)	15% (5.7%–28%)	17%	31% (21%–43%)	–^b	–^b
Surgical urgency
Elective	22% (21%–23%)	26% (25%–27%)	6.5%	26% (25%–27%)	30% (29%–32%)	7.1%
Acute	39% (36%–41%)	41% (38%–43%)	3.0%	42% (31%–53%)	–^b	–^b

^a Number of late recurrences divided by total number of recurrences.

^bNo data reported; follow-up time is too short.

Figure 2. Cumulative incidence of colon (A) and rectal (B) cancer recurrence by sex, stratified by stage.

Figure 3. Cumulative incidence of colon (A) and rectal (B) cancer recurrence by calendar period of diagnosis, stratified by stage.