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Background:The effect of intra-operative chemotherapy (IOC) on the long-term survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the independent effect of intra-operative infusion of 5-fluorouracil in combination with calcium folinate on the survival of CRC patients following radical resection.Methods:1820 patients were recruited, and 1263 received IOC and 557 did not. Clinical and demographic data were collected, including overall survival (OS), clinicopathological features, and treatment strategies. Risk factors for IOC-related deaths were identified using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. A regression model was developed to analyze the independent effects of IOC.Results:Proportional hazard regression analysis showed that IOC (hazard ratio [HR]=0.53, 95% confidence intervals [CI] [0.43, 0.65], P < 0.001) was a protective factor for the survival of patients. The mean overall survival time in IOC group was 82.50 (95% CI [80.52, 84.49]) months, and 71.21 (95% CI [67.92, 74.50]) months in non-IOC group. The OS in IOC-treated patients were significantly higher than non-IOC-treated patients (P < 0.001, log-rank test). Further analysis revealed that IOC decreased the risk of death in patients with CRC in a non-adjusted model (HR=0.53, 95% CI [0.43, 0.65], P < 0.001), model 2 (adjusted for age and gender, HR=0.52, 95% CI [0.43, 0.64], P < 0.001), and model 3 (adjusted for all factors, 95% CI 0.71 [0.55, 0.90], P = 0.006). The subgroup analysis showed that the HR for the effect of IOC on survival was lower in patients with stage II (HR = 0.46, 95% CI [0.31, 0.67]) or III disease (HR=0.59, 95% CI [0.45, 0.76]), regardless of pre-operative radiotherapy (HR=0.55, 95% CI [0.45, 0.68]) or pre-operative chemotherapy (HR=0.54, 95% CI [0.44, 0.66]).Conclusions:IOC is an independent factor that influences the survival of CRC patients. It improved the OS of patients with stages II and III CRC after radical surgery.Trial registration:chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR 2100043775.

BackgroundNumerous studies have confirmed that inflammation promotes the occurrence, development and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC).ObjectiveThis study focuses on the potentially prognostic value of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in CRC patients.Data SourcesThis study was registered at PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020219215). Relative studies were searched on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and clinical trial databases by two back-to-back reviewers. Study Selection and Intervention: Studies were screened according to the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, comparing prognosis differences between low PLR levels and high PLR levels for CRC patients. Main Outcome Measures: Studies were integrated and compared to analyze the value of PLR in predicting overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of CRC. Results: Outcomes were compared using Review Manager (version 5.4) software from Cochrane Collaboration. A total of 27 literary works, including 13,330 patients, were incorporated into our study. The final results showed that higher PLR levels had worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.21–1.62, P &lt; 0.00001), DFS (HR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.09–1.90, P = 0.01) and RFS (HR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.13–1.94, P = 0.005) than lower PLR levels, respectively. However, there was no evidence of significance for PFS (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.84–1.54, P = 0.40) and CSS (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.88–1.53, P = 0.28) in the final meta-analysis.LimitationsOur study has the following limitations. First of all, we only included literature published in English, which means that some publication bias may be inevitable. In addition, our study used aggregate data, not individual data; furthermore, we did not define the exact cut-off value representing the PLR level.ConclusionAn elevated PLR seems to be an adverse prognostic factor affecting survival outcomes in patients with CRC. Meanwhile, more prospective studies are required to confirm our conclusion.PROSPERO ID: CRD42020219215.