The study of prognostic factors in neoplastic rectal surgery is enriched with a new element, namely, the role of the surgeon. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this was true of our own experience. We selected 118 patients with rectal cancer operated on with a radical intent by two different surgeons and analyzed factors such as sex, age, Dukes' stage, histological type, tumour length, differentiation and type of operation. We studied these factors by univariate and multivariate analysis in relation to local and distant recurrence and survival. We found statistically significant correlations between distant recurrence and tumour stage, differentiation and surgeon, but between local recurrence and tumour stage only. Multivariate analysis showed statistically significant correlations between distant recurrence and tumour stage and differentiation, but between local recurrence and tumour stage only. As regards survival, we found statistically significant differences in relation to stage, histological type, and differentiation. The role of the surgeon appeared to be important when there are differences in experience, training and specialization.
Age Factors Analysis of Variance