BackgroundPatients presenting with inoperable colon cancer at first onset (ICF) or at time of relapse (ICR) are considered in unrecoverable. The therapeutic goal for unrecoverable cancer is to prolong overall survival (OS) and maintain a high quality of life (QOL). As data on objective indicators of QOL in cancer patients, such as length of hospitalisation (LOH), outpatient consultation times (OCT), and hospital-free survival (HFS), is limited, this study compared ICF and ICR with respect to OS and QOL over the entire clinical course.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated 90 inoperable colon cancer patients with chemotherapy and compared ICF and ICR in terms of OS, LOH, OCT, and HFS.ResultsPatients with ICF had a worse OS than those with ICR. In patients with ICF and ICR, OS and LOH were not correlated but OS and OCT and OS and HFS were strongly correlated. In patients with ICF and ICR, OCT and HFS accounted for approximately 8% and 90% of their OS, respectively.ConclusionsThe LOH, OCT, and HFS are important factors for evaluating objective QOL of patients with inoperable colon cancer and should be considered when making treatment decisions.