Adverse Tumour and Host Biology May Explain the Poorer Outcomes Seen in Emergency Presentations of Colon Cancer

Objective: To examine the association between tumor/host factors (including the systemic inflammatory response), mode of presentation, and short/long-term outcomes in patients undergoing curative resectional surgery for TNM I to III colon cancer. Background: Emergency presentations of colon cancer are associated with worse long-term outcomes than elective presentations despite adjustment for TNM stage. A number of differences in tumor and host factors have been identified between elective and emergency presentations and it may be these factors that are associated with adverse outcomes. Methods: Patients undergoing curative surgery for TNM I to III colon cancer in the West of Scotland from 2011 to 2014 were identified. Tumor/host factors independently associated with the emergency presentation were identified and entered into a subsequent survival model to determine those that were independently associated with overall survival/cancer-specific survival (OS/CSS). Results: A total of 2705 patients were identified. The emergency presentation was associated with a worse 3-year OS and CSS compared with elective presentations (70% vs 86% and 91% vs 75%). T stage, age, systemic inflammatory grade, anemia (all P < 0.001), N stage ( P = 0.077), extramural venous invasion ( P = 0.003), body mass index ( P = 0.001), and American Society of Anesthesiologists Classification classification ( P = 0.021) were independently associated with emergency presentation. Of these, body mass index [hazard ratio (HR), 0.82], American Society of Anesthesiologists Classification (HR, 1.45), anemia (HR, 1.29), systemic inflammatory grade (HR. 1.11), T stage (HR, 1.57), N stage (HR, 1.80), and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR, 0.47) were independently associated with OS. Similar results were observed for CSS. Conclusions: Within patients undergoing curative surgery for colon cancer, the emergency presentation was not independently associated with worse OS/CSS. Rather, a combination of tumor and host factors account for the worse outcomes observed.