Factors affecting sphincter-preserving resection treatment for patients with low rectal cancer

The aim of the present study was to identify the factors associated with the use of sphincter-preserving resection (SPR) surgery for the treatment of low rectal cancer. A total of 330 patients with histopathologically confirmed low rectal cancer were divided into two groups, namely the abdominoperineal resection (APR) and sphincter-preserving (SP) groups. For SPR factor analysis, the χ² test was performed as the univariate analysis, while a logistic regression test was conducted as the multivariate analysis. Of the 330 patients, 192 cases (58.18%) received SPR surgery and 138 cases (41.82%) underwent an APR. Univariate analysis results revealed that the sphincter-preserving factor was significantly associated with age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), total infiltrated circumference, distance of the tumor from the anal verge (DTAV), depth of invasion and tumor grade (P<0.05). However, there were no statistically significant associations with family medical history, diabetes history, venous tumor embolism, growth type, tumor length, lymphatic metastasis and level of preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (P>0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that the sphincter-preserving factor was strongly associated with DTAV and the depth of invasion, with significant statistical difference (P<0.05). Therefore, selecting SPR surgery for patients with low rectal cancer is dependent on age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, the total infiltrated circumference, DTAV, depth of invasion and tumor grade. In addition, DTAV and the depth of invasion are independent risk factors for the selection of SPR surgery.