Survival of Patients with Right-Sided and Left-Sided Colon Cancer: Insights from an Iranian Medical Center

Objectives: We aimed to describe and compare the 12-year results of patients with colon cancer based on the Shiraz Colorectal Cancer Surgery (SCORCS) registry system in patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of right-sided colon cancer (RCC) and left-sided colon cancer (LCC) who had undergone surgery. Methods: A total of 443 patients with a diagnosis of colon cancer at Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, between 2010 and 2022, who were registered in the SCORCS system, were enrolled in the current study. The data collected included the patients' demographic characteristics, tumor site and size, degree of invasion, recurrence status, metastasis, and death. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results: Among all patients, 61% underwent laparoscopy, 30% required conversion of laparoscopy to laparotomy, and the rest (9%) underwent laparotomy. The median follow-up time was 45 (range 25 - 87) months. Right-sided colon cancer mostly occurred in men, while LCC predominantly affected women (P = 0.04). Overall survival (P = 0.45), recurrence (P = 0.85), and metastasis (P = 0.77) were similar between the RCC and LCC groups. In both groups, the tumor stage had a significant impact on the overall survival. Conclusions: Our long-term follow-up of patients indicates that overall survival, recurrence, and metastasis are similar between RCC and LCC. However, lymphatic, vascular, and perineural invasions were more common in RCC.