Improvement of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patient Survival: Single Institution Experience

The survival rates of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have improved in recent years. We analysed the survival of mCRC patients followed at a single institution over the last 17 years. We retrospectively collected data from 899 mCRC patients treated from 2001 to 2016. Patients were divided into two groups based on the year of diagnosis: Cohort A (2001–2006) and Cohort B (2007–2014). A total of 788 patients were analysed. The median survival of the whole population was 32.0 months with a significant difference between Cohort A and B (29.2 vs. 33.5 months; p = 0.041). Surgical procedures significantly increased in Cohort B, however, no significant changes in survival were observed in patients undergoing surgery (58.9 months Cohort A vs. 58.2 months Cohort B, p = 0.822). Similarly, we did not demonstrate survival improvement in patients treated with systemic therapy alone (18.9 months Cohort A vs. 20.7 months Cohort B; p = 0.948). At the multivariate analysis, right-sided primary and synchronous metastatic tumour were found to be independent unfavorable prognostic factors. Improvements of mCRC patient survival might relate to integrated approach, with more patients undergoing extra-hepatic surgery. The medical approach seems to have had a more favourable impact on subgroups characterized by a worse prognosis.