Peritoneal Carcinomatosis and Multi-Organ Metastases are Prognostic Factors in Colorectal Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis

Background : Peritoneal carcinomatosis and multi-organ metastases might be prognostic factors in patients with advanced colorectal cancer and inoperable metastases at diagnosis. Methods : A retrospective study was performed to examine the relationship between patient clinical characteristics and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer and indication for first-line systemic chemotherapy. Results : One hundred and twelve patients were accrued. According to univariate analysis, peritoneal carcinomatosis, lack of primary tumour resection and multi-organ metastases were associated with poor overall survival. According to multivariate analysis, patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis and patients with multi-organ metastases had a shorter overall survival (12 vs 27.0 months, p<0.001 and 14,6 vs 27 months, p=0.007, respectively). Conclusions : Our results indicate that presence of peritoneal carcinomatosis and multi-organ metastases are independent predictors of poor outcome for patients with colorectal cancer undergoing first line treatment with standard chemotherapy.