Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database

Background and aimThe incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising, yet intensive postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) often results in overtreatment with minimal prognostic benefit. This study aims to assess the therapeutic necessity of ACT in stage II EOCRC patients and to ide...

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Main Authors: Shikun Cao, Yihuan Qiao, Lijun Wu, Qi Chen, Kai Tian, Jipeng Li, Chungen Xing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1566569/full
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author Shikun Cao
Yihuan Qiao
Lijun Wu
Qi Chen
Kai Tian
Jipeng Li
Chungen Xing
author_facet Shikun Cao
Yihuan Qiao
Lijun Wu
Qi Chen
Kai Tian
Jipeng Li
Chungen Xing
author_sort Shikun Cao
collection DOAJ
description Background and aimThe incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising, yet intensive postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) often results in overtreatment with minimal prognostic benefit. This study aims to assess the therapeutic necessity of ACT in stage II EOCRC patients and to identify potential ACT candidates.MethodsA total of 296 non-ACT and 50 ACT patients with stage II EOCRC were included from Xijing Hospital (XJCRC), and 2067 non-ACT and 1163 ACT patients were enrolled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cohort. To address selection bias and confounding, propensity score matching, inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW), and multivariate Cox regression analyses were utilized. Survival curves and landmark analysis were employed to compare Overall Survival (OS) differences.ResultsSimilar OS were observed between ACT and non-ACT groups in both cohorts before and after adjustment for confounders. No significant survival differences were noted in dMMR (P = 0.48), pMMR (P = 0.07), and T3 (P = 0.83) subgroups. However, T4 stage patients receiving ACT demonstrated prolonged survival compared to non-ACT counterparts, particularly after three years (P = 0.007), as identified by landmark analysis.ConclusionsMost stage II EOCRC patients might yield limited benefits from postoperative ACT, with the sole exception of those at T4 stage, who could experience long-term clinical advantages.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/, identifier NCT06308354.
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spelling doaj-art-ea93b4371a9a4bb6b5cf397790ec9c7f2025-08-20T03:21:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2025-05-011510.3389/fonc.2025.15665691566569Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER databaseShikun Cao0Yihuan Qiao1Lijun Wu2Qi Chen3Kai Tian4Jipeng Li5Chungen Xing6Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu, ChinaDepartment of Digestive Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, ChinaDepartment of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu, ChinaDepartment of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu, ChinaDepartment of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu, ChinaDepartment of Digestive Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, ChinaDepartment of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu, ChinaBackground and aimThe incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising, yet intensive postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) often results in overtreatment with minimal prognostic benefit. This study aims to assess the therapeutic necessity of ACT in stage II EOCRC patients and to identify potential ACT candidates.MethodsA total of 296 non-ACT and 50 ACT patients with stage II EOCRC were included from Xijing Hospital (XJCRC), and 2067 non-ACT and 1163 ACT patients were enrolled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cohort. To address selection bias and confounding, propensity score matching, inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW), and multivariate Cox regression analyses were utilized. Survival curves and landmark analysis were employed to compare Overall Survival (OS) differences.ResultsSimilar OS were observed between ACT and non-ACT groups in both cohorts before and after adjustment for confounders. No significant survival differences were noted in dMMR (P = 0.48), pMMR (P = 0.07), and T3 (P = 0.83) subgroups. However, T4 stage patients receiving ACT demonstrated prolonged survival compared to non-ACT counterparts, particularly after three years (P = 0.007), as identified by landmark analysis.ConclusionsMost stage II EOCRC patients might yield limited benefits from postoperative ACT, with the sole exception of those at T4 stage, who could experience long-term clinical advantages.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/, identifier NCT06308354.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1566569/fullearly onset colorectal canceradjuvant chemotherapydeficient mismatch repairsurvivallandmark analysis
spellingShingle Shikun Cao
Yihuan Qiao
Lijun Wu
Qi Chen
Kai Tian
Jipeng Li
Chungen Xing
Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
Frontiers in Oncology
early onset colorectal cancer
adjuvant chemotherapy
deficient mismatch repair
survival
landmark analysis
title Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
title_full Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
title_fullStr Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
title_full_unstemmed Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
title_short Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II early onset colorectal cancer: exploration and discovery using real-world data and the SEER database
title_sort postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage ii early onset colorectal cancer exploration and discovery using real world data and the seer database
topic early onset colorectal cancer
adjuvant chemotherapy
deficient mismatch repair
survival
landmark analysis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1566569/full
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