Influence of postoperative complications on relapse-free survival in gastrointestinal malignancies.

Objective: A variety of preoperative variables-such as perforation prior to surgery, poor nutritional status, and comorbid conditions such as diabetes-are already known to shorten relapse-free survival in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. However, the significance of postoperative events in gastrointestinal malignancies is still debated and has not been studied in the population of southern India.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, India, from September 2004 to 2006.