Colorectal Cancer Prevalence and Survival in Castilla La Mancha (Spain). A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer type and the second cause of cancer death in Spain. The primary risk factor for colorectal cancer is age, with 90% of all diagnosed patients aged over 50 years. Prognosis mainly depends on tumour stage. Aim: Conduct a pilot Colorectal Cancer prevalence and survival study in Cuenca (Spain) since there are almost no studies based on small populations. This is the first pilot study about survival in screening of colorectal cancer carried out in hospitals in Castilla La Mancha. Methods and Results: Retrospective descriptive cohort study was performed to include patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed by colonoscopy between May 2015 and April 2016, and who were followed up for 48 months. The study considered sociodemographic and clinical data of the patients. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The proportional hazard rate associated with age, gender, stage and presence of metastasis was calculated using the Cox regression method. 57 patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up was 45.5 months. Ten patients died during the study, in seven cases the cause was colorectal cancer. The percentage of patients alive at 48-month follow-up were 82.4%. Conclusion: Colon cancer is a high-prevalence pathology, with adenocarcinoma being the most common histology. The results seem to indicate that it affects men more frequently, mortality rises with tumour stage at diagnosis and declines with use of chemotherapy. We present a pilot study that could justify large-scale epidemiological studies for the regional surveillance and evolution of colorectal cancer in Spain.