Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of Patients with Colorectal Cancer
Keywords:
Colorectal cancer, clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, chemotherapy, tumor staging, oncology, colorectal malignancyAbstract
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is regarded as one of the most frequently occurring cancers in the world, and an important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. The current study aimed to evaluate the characteristics, tumor profile, treatment, and factors related to advanced colorectal cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study used a descriptive approach (n=150) including colorectal cancer patients who were diagnosed histopathologically in the oncological and surgical department of tertiary care hospitals. The data was collected through a data collection form, and the information collected included the demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, location of the tumor, histological type, tumor grade, status of lymph nodes, clinical stage, treatment modalities, chemotherapy regimen, and clinical outcomes (SPSS version 24.0). Results: The mean age was 58.7 ± 12.1 years, and 60.0% were male. Sixty-one percent of patients had colon tumors, and 38.7% had rectal tumors. The most frequently occurring histological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (87.3%), with involvement of the lymph nodes seen in 59.3%. Stage III disease was the most common (42.0%), and Stage II was the second most common (28.0%). The most frequently used treatment modality was surgery with chemotherapy (44.7%), and the most frequently used chemotherapy was FOLFOX (48.6%). Poor outcomes were significantly related to the advanced stage. Conclusions: There was a strong need for early diagnosis, early referral, and risk-based screening for better clinical outcomes and survival, as the majority of patients presented with advanced disease with nodal involvement.
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