The Role of Tumor Location on Endoscopic and Surgical Management of Malignant Colon Polyps

Endoscopic polypectomy could be an appropriate, definitive treatment for pathologic T1 (pT1) colon polyps without high-risk features. Prior studies suggested worse prognosis for proximal versus distal advanced-stage colon cancers following curative treatment. However, there is limited evidence on the prognostic impact of tumor location for pT1s.

This was a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to identify adults with T1NxMx or T1N0-3M0/x colon adenocarcinoma from 2000 to 2019.

A total of 3398 patients underwent endoscopic polypectomy (17% proximal) and 28,334 had a partial colectomy (49% proximal) for pT1 adenocarcinoma. Following endoscopic polypectomy, 5-year overall and cancer-specific survival rates were 64% and 91% for proximal versus 83% and 96% for distal polyps, compared with 82% and 95% for proximal versus 88% and 97% for distal tumors after colectomy. In multivariable models, there was a greater difference in overall survival between proximal and distal polyps for those who underwent endoscopic versus surgical resection [hazard ratio (HR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49–2.02 vs. HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.08–1.18]. Patients with proximal versus distal polyps who underwent polypectomy also exhibited increased cancer-specific mortality (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.37–2.75). However, cancer-specific survival variations based on tumor location were no longer observed in patients undergoing partial colectomy (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.98–1.21).

Proximal tumor location was independently associated with worse overall and cancer-specific survival following endoscopic polypectomy. However, after colectomy, the cancer-specific disparity based on tumor laterality was mitigated. These findings suggest that proximal location may be considered a high-risk feature in endoscopic polypectomy.