The surgeon's decision as a prognostic factor in a pool of patients with colorectal cancer coming from different institutions

Different pathological and predictive factors are used to stratify patients submitted to radical surgery for colorectal carcinoma. In addition to stage and histotype, the surgeon's technique and decisions also appeared to affect the prognosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if the extent of lymphadenectomy was associated with a different long-term outcome in a pool of 117 patients. In particular, in patients classified as Dukes' B, some evidences seem to suggest that the staging procedure depends on a correct surgical lymphadenectomy with a higher risk of understaging colorectal carcinomas when the number of removed nodes is limited. Moreover, the promptness in forwarding patients to the chemotherapist seems to influence the disease-free survival.