Effects of positive resection margin and tumor distance from anus on rectal cancer treatment outcomes.

Purpose: Rectal cancer outcome depends on stage, technical aspects of surgical excision, and use of adjuvant chemoradiation. Here, we examine effects of positive resection margin and tumor distance from the anus in stage 2 and 3 cancers on 4-year disease-specific survival and recurrence.

Methods: We reviewed all 495 rectal cancer patients registered in British Columbia in 1996.