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Family History of Cancer as Potential Prognostic Factor in Stage III Colorectal Cancer: a Retrospective Monoinstitutional Study

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Abstract

Background and Aims

The prognostic role of family history of cancer (FHC) in resected colorectal cancer (CRC) is controversial. The aim of the current study was to evaluate its impact in a monoinstitutional series of stage III CRC patients.

Methods

This single institution retrospective analysis is aimed at evaluating whether FHC affects overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in stage III CRC patients. Moreover, the role of both colorectal FHC (FHCRC, in patients with at least one relative with CRC) and FHC “burden” have been investigated; patients were classified according to FHC in FHC negative, FHC-low (one “familial cluster” among parents/children/grandparents, brothers/sisters, uncles/cousins), and FHC-high (at least two clusters of those above mentioned).

Results

From October 2000 to March 2019, 112 consecutive stage III CRC patients have been evaluated. Median age was 67 years (range 24–89); male/female ratio was 64/48. Fifty-three (47.3%) patients were FHC-negative while 59 (52.7%) patients were FHC-positive, 18 (16.1%) of whom were FHCRC-positive. Thirty-three (29.5%) patients were FHC-low, and 10 (8.9%) were FHC-high. At a median follow-up of 41.9 months, no statistically significant differences in DFS were found. FHC-positive patients had a significantly longer OS than FHC-negative (HR = 0.32 [95% CI 0.12–0.84], p = 0.0210), and a significant trend towards improved OS according to the FHC burden was found (p = 0.0255). No statistically significant differences were found in DFS and OS according to FHCRC.

Conclusion

In this retrospective analysis, FHC-positive stage III CRC patients had a significantly longer OS compared to FHC-negative. Moreover, this survival benefit seems to increase according to the FHC burden. Further prospective studies, with longer follow-up and larger sample size, are necessary to confirm FHC as prognostic factor in this setting.

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Data Availability

The datasets used during the present study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Oncology, St. Salvatore Hospital, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Alessandro Parisi, Alessio Cortellini, Olga Venditti, Tina Sidoni, Katia Cannita, Corrado Ficorella & Giampiero Porzio

  2. Department of Biotechnology and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy

    Alessandro Parisi, Alessio Cortellini, Valentina Santo, Corrado Ficorella & Giampiero Porzio

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  1. Alessandro Parisi
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  2. Alessio Cortellini
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  3. Olga Venditti
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  4. Valentina Santo
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  5. Tina Sidoni
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the publication according to the ICMJE guidelines for the authorship. All authors read and approved the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the research in ensuring that the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work is appropriately investigated and resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessandro Parisi.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Alessio Cortellini received grants as speaker from MSD, Astra-Zeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim and grant consultancies from BMS, Roche, Novartis, Istituto Gentili and Ipsen.

Ethical Statement

The procedures followed were in accordance with the precepts of Good Clinical Practice and the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was conducted following the rules of the local bioethical committee competent on human experimentation (Comitato etico per le province di L’Aquila e Teramo).

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Parisi, A., Cortellini, A., Venditti, O. et al. Family History of Cancer as Potential Prognostic Factor in Stage III Colorectal Cancer: a Retrospective Monoinstitutional Study. J Gastrointest Canc 51, 1094–1101 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00452-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00452-6

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