Colorectal cancer treated at Christchurch Hospital,

Aim To compare clinicopathological variables, management, and outcome of two cohorts of unselected patients treated for colorectal cancer (CRC) at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand in 1993–94 and 1998–99. Methods Retrospective review from hospital discharge codes, oncology referral database, and histology database. Data was stored in a Microsoft Access database. Results 356 patients in 1993–94 and 317 patients in 1998–99 had a confirmed diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum. At the minimum follow-up time of 42 months, 54 % (40 % of CRC) of the 356 patients in the first cohort, and 36% (26 % of CRC) of the 317 patients in the second cohort had died. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed significant improvement in 1998–99 overall, as well as for Dukes stages A plus B, stage C, and stage D disease. Computed tomography (CT) scan-staging increased from 11.3 % to 62.8%. On multivariate analysis, cohort, stage, vascular/lymphatic invasion, and elective surgery were independent prognostic factors for disease-specific mortality. Over the 5 years (1993–94 to 1998–99), surgery b