Clinicopathological differences and correlations between right and left colon cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Gastroenterology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Right colon cancer (RCC) and left colon cancer (LCC) exhibit distinct epidemiological, clinical, and molecular differences.
• These disparities may influence patient prognosis and overall survival (OS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To statistically investigate significant differences between Greek patients diagnosed with LCC and RCC.
• To compare clinical presentation, comorbidities, histopathology, and molecular biomarkers between LCC and RCC.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective and prospective observational study of 144 Greek colon cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
• Data collection included clinical information, comorbidities, histopathology, molecular biomarkers, chemotherapy regimens, progression-free survival (PFS), and OS.
• Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Main Results:

• RCC patients were more likely to present with anemia, diabetes, and coronary artery disease.
• LCC patients more frequently experienced rectal bleeding and incomplete evacuation.
• Higher mucinous differentiation and lymph node infiltration were observed in RCC.
• RAS wild-type patients receiving anti-EGFR therapy showed improved PFS, with LCC patients benefiting more.
• BRAF-mutant patients had shorter PFS.
• RCC patients had shorter tumor recurrence periods and OS compared to LCC patients.

Conclusions:

• RCC patients present with more comorbidities and poorer histological and molecular characteristics.
• These factors contribute to a higher probability of tumor recurrence and shorter OS in RCC patients compared to LCC patients.
• Differences in response to targeted therapies were observed between LCC and RCC.