Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and even after curative (radical) surgery, some patients develop recurrence or distant metastasis. Understanding how tumor stage and lymph node status at the time of diagnosis influence the risk and patterns of recurrence is important for guiding follow-up and treatment strategies. This study retrospectively evaluates patients with stage I-III colon cancer who underwent radical surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 2006 and 2018. A total of 7,259 patients are included from the institutional tumor registry. Patients are categorized into four tumor-node (TN) stage groups: * T1-3 without lymph node involvement * T1-3 with lymph node involvement * T4 without lymph node involvement * T4 with lymph node involvement The study aims to examine recurrence patterns (no recurrence, local recurrence, isolated lung metastasis, isolated liver metastasis, or multiple sites) and overall survival. Statistical analyses planned include Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and marginal structural models to compare outcomes across different TN stages and recurrence types. This study is based on retrospective data and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (IRB No: 202500389B0). No new patient enrollment or interventions will be performed, and patient consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.
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Recurrence Patterns After Radical Surgery in Stage I-III Colon Cancer
Timeframe: From date of radical surgery until the date of first documented recurrence, assessed up to 60 months.
Overall Survival After Radical Surgery in Stage I-III Colon Cancer
Timeframe: From date of radical surgery until death from any cause, assessed up to 5 years.