A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Impact of Primary Tumor Location on Demographics, Resectability, Outcomes, and Quality of Life in Finnish Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients (Subgroup Analysis of the RAXO Study)




AuthorsAho, Sonja; Osterlund, Emerik; Ristimäki, Ari; Nieminen, Lasse; Sundström, Jari; Mäkinen, Markus J.; Kuopio, Teijo; Kytölä, Soili; Ålgars, Annika; Ristamäki, Raija; Heervä, Eetu; Kallio, Raija; Halonen, Päivi; Soveri, Leena-Maija; Nordin, Arno; Uutela, Aki; Salminen, Tapio; Stedt, Hanna; Lamminmäki, Annamarja; Muhonen, Timo; Kononen, Juha; Glimelius, Bengt; Isoniemi, Helena; Lehto, Juho T.; Lehtomäki, Kaisa; Osterlund, Pia

PublisherMDPI

Publication year2024

JournalCancers

Journal name in sourceCANCERS

Journal acronymCANCERS

Article number 1052

Volume16

Issue5

Number of pages22

eISSN2072-6694

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16051052

Web address https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/5/1052

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387439219


Abstract
Simple Summary The location of the primary tumor in the right colon, left colon, or rectum affects the efficacy of biological drugs used in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, but how? We examined how the primary tumor location affects disease characteristics, treatability, quality of life, and outcome in a real-life study population of 1080 Finnish patients in the RAXO study. The primary tumor location correlates with the location of metastases, the frequency of gene mutations, how often metastases can be operated upon, long-term survival after curative surgery or palliative chemotherapy, and the quality of life during the disease trajectory. The primary tumor location is a helpful surrogate for clinicians working with metastatic colorectal cancer patients in estimating the clinical course of the disease. This study cannot identify the reasons for the associations, i.e., whether it is the primary location per se, the different mutations, or other reasons.Abstract The primary tumor location (PTL) is associated with the phenotype, metastatic sites, mutations, and outcomes of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients, but this has mostly been studied according to sidedness (right vs. left sided). We studied right colon vs. left colon vs. rectal PTL in a real-life study population (n = 1080). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed multi-cross-sectionally with QLQ-C30, QLQ-CR29, EQ-5D, and 15D. A chi-square, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox regression were used to compare the groups. The PTL was in the right colon in 310 patients (29%), the left colon in 396 patients (37%), and the rectum in 375 patients (35%). The PTL was associated with distinct differences in metastatic sites during the disease trajectory. The resectability, conversion, and resection rates were lowest in the right colon, followed by the rectum, and were highest in the left colon. Overall survival was shortest for right colon compared with left colon or rectal PTL (median 21 vs. 35 vs. 36 months), with the same trends after metastasectomy or systemic therapy only. PTL also remained statistically significant in a multivariable model. The distribution of symptoms varied according to PTL, especially between the right colon (with general symptoms of metastases) and rectal PTL (with sexual- and bowel-related symptoms). mCRC, according to PTL, behaves differently regarding metastatic sites, resectability of the metastases, outcomes of treatment, and HRQoL.

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Last updated on 2025-11-02 at 15:34