Relapse affected 9.4% of surgically treated appendix cancer patients
A retrospective study of 439 patients followed at MD Anderson from 2000 to 2024 assessed relapse after surgery for localized appendiceal adenocarcinoma. Relapse occurred in 9.4% of 202 surgical patients and was more common at stage 3. Chemotherapy after surgery was not associated with better recurrence-free survival. Observational data from specialist cancer centres cannot establish a causal treatment effect.
Science··Morning
Relapse occurred in 9.4% of 202 surgical patients
The retrospective study in JAMA Surgery covered 439 patients with localized appendiceal adenocarcinoma followed at MD Anderson from 2000 to 2024. Of the 202 people treated surgically, 9.4% saw the disease return. Stage 3 patients had a 19.5% relapse rate, compared with 6% among those at stage 2. These rates were calculated from historical records at one centre, not from a prospective clinical trial. Medscape reported the study independently, writing that the risk of relapse after resection of localized appendiceal adenocarcinoma varies by histologic subtype, with potential implications for risk assessment and adjuvant therapy.[1], [2]
Relapse accompanied a five-year survival difference
At five years, overall survival was calculated as 77.2% for the group whose disease returned. The corresponding estimate for patients who remained free of relapse was 95.7%. The study shows relapse occurring alongside poorer outcomes, but the comparison does not demonstrate that relapse alone produced the survival difference. Disease stage, tumour characteristics and treatment selection can vary with outcomes in retrospective records.[1]
Chemotherapy showed no recurrence-free survival advantage
Postoperative chemotherapy was not associated with longer recurrence-free survival. Multivariable analysis produced a hazard ratio of 0.98. Its 95% confidence limits were 0.43 and 2.28, a wide span that leaves room for either benefit or harm. The researchers caution that these retrospective results come from specialist cancer centres. The finding is not experimental evidence for changing an individual treatment.[1]
