Evaluating the Benefits of Tegafur-Uracil Adjuvant Therapy in Low-Risk Stage IIa Colon Cancer: Insights from a Decade-Long Study

Background Surgical resection is the gold standard for treating non-metastatic colorectal cancer. The five-year overall survival (OS) for Stage IIIa patients is longer than that for Stage IIa patients, highlighting the importance of adjuvant therapy (ACT) for Stage IIa. This study aims to evaluate the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors for Stage IIa colon cancer at our hospital over the past decade. Materials and Methods This retrospective study was conducted at a medical center and included patients treated between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2019. We included only patients who underwent surgery and had pathological Stage IIa or IIIa colon cancer. Collected data included patient characteristics, oncological outcomes, receipt of adjuvant therapy, and adverse effects associated with adjuvant therapy. Result We observed a higher five-year OS for Stage IIIa than Stage IIa patients, but the difference was not statistically significant. Patients who were administered tegafur-uracil had longer five-year progression-free survival and five-year overall survival compared to the No ACT group (p < 0.005). The receiver operating characteristic curve identified the optimal cut-off point for tegafur-uracil (UFT) duration as ≤ 1.74 years, with the area under the curve being statistically significant ( p  = 0.05). Conclusion ACT is recommended even for low-risk Stage IIa patients postoperatively. The adverse effects of UFT were generally acceptable, with Grade 3 or higher adverse effects being rare. If UFT is used as an ACT regimen for stage IIa colon cancer, a duration of more than one year is suggested.