Outcomes of Adjuvant Oral versus Intravenous Fluoropyrimidines for High-Risk Stage II or Stage III Colon Adenocarcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched, Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study

摘要

Objective: We conducted this propensity score (PS)-matched, nationwide, population-based cohort study to estimate the effects of adjuvant oral or intravenous (IV) fluoropyrimidine in patients with high-risk stage II or III colon adenocarcinoma. Design: Using PS matching, we minimized the confounding effects on adjuvant oral or IV fluoropyrimidine outcomes in patients with high-risk stage II or III resectable colon adenocarcinoma. Setting: We selected patients from the Taiwan Cancer Registry database receiving adjuvant fluoropyrimidine monotherapy and divided them into those receiving IV fluoropyrimidine (IV group) and those receiving oral fluoropyrimidine (oral group). Results: In both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) derived for the oral group was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.19-1.51) compared with the IV group. Moreover, in both univariate and multivariate analyses, aHR derived for significant independent prognostic risk factors for poor overall survival were male sex, age ≥ 60 years old, pathologic stage III, right-sided colon cancer, low income, and high Charlson comorbidity index. However, intergroup differences were not significant among female patients or patients 60 years old on multivariate analysis, including no difference in overall survival. Conclusions: Adjuvant IV fluoropyrimidine is more suitable than adjuvant oral fluoropyrimidine for patients with stage II colon adenocarcinoma who have high-risk pathologic features or stage III colon adenocarcinoma.? The author(s).