Comparison of oncological results after curative resection in right and left colon cancers

Background: Right colon and left colon cancers have different genetic and clinical characteristics. It is thought that right colon cancers have more aggressive course.
Aim: We planned to compare differences between right and left colon cancers, oncological results, survival rate after curative resection.
Material and methods: The patients who had been operated between January 2015 and December 2019 were included in the study, and they were separated into two groups as right colon and left colon cancers. The files of the patients were scanned, and in addition to the demographic data, the tumor stages according to the tumor, nodus, metastasis staging, the number of lymph nodes removed, the type of the operation (laparoscopic/open), average follow-up time, metastasis, recurrence and death/survival were recorded and compared.
Results: A total of 76 patients were included, and 38 (50%) were diagnosed with right colon cancer whereas 38 (50%) had left colon cancer. The average follow-up time was found as 17.14 months (1 - 60 months). While no difference was detected between the two groups in neurovascular invasion, the mean number of lymphovascular invasion positivity was found as 18.34±4.16 and 13.34±5.45 in two groups, respectively (p<0.05). All the recurrences (5) were found in right colon tumors, no recurrence was observed in left colon tumors (p=0.021). When the metastasis and death rates were examined, no statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups.
Conclusion: We observe that lymphovascular invasion and recurrence rates are higher in right colon cancers compared to left colon cancers.