Survival for rectal cancer patients and international comparisons

Population-based cancer registry data are important because they reflect routine care, present long-term follow-up, can show differences in treatment, outcomes and health care over time, and can be used for comparisons between regions and countries.

Details of all cancer patients in the Munich region are recorded by the Munich Cancer Registry. Rectal cancer patients with an invasive primary tumor diagnosed between 1996 and 1998 were included in this analysis (n=936). Observed and relative survival are presented. Observed survival was also investigated with a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Median follow-up time of survivors was 5.7 years. Five-year relative survival for the whole sample was 62.2%. International Union Against Cancer (UICC) stage was the most important prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis. Compared with the 1992-1999 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data (62.4%), relative survival for each disease stage and the whole sample were very similar. In comparison with other European registries, Munich patients had slightly higher survival rates per stage (for example, 5-year relative survival in UICC III was 58.3% in Munich, 54.6% in South East Netherlands, 33.3% in Modena and 47.4% in Cote d'Or); however, more patients in Munich were in higher disease stages with worse prognoses, indicating poorer early detection.

These results indicate that treatment of rectal cancer in Munich is good, but early detection could be improved. Cancer registries should publish their population-based stage data to ensure quality of care and provide regular feedback to health-care workers and decision makers. Comparisons between countries without stage data should be conducted cautiously.