Blood transfusion and prognosis in Dukes' B and C colorectal cancer

To evaluate the prognostic influence of blood transfusion in cancer patients, transfusion data were reviewed on 468 radically operated patients (260 Dukes' B and 208 Dukes' C) with carcinoma of the rectum and the rectosigmoid. Data on whole blood and packed red blood cell transfusions were recorded together with a number of clinical, pathological and histochemical characteristics. The endpoint used was death with cancer. All patients were followed for 2-7 years or until time of death. Univariate statistical methods revealed a highly significant trend towards worsened prognosis with increasing volume of transfusion blood. However, this effect was insignificant when multivariate statistical methods were employed: patients receiving whole blood or packed red blood cell transfusions did no worse than expected from their clinico-pathological characteristics. It is concluded that in this series the observed association between transfusion status and prognosis is adequately explained by a multivariate prognostic model including well-established prognostic factors.