The severity of anastomotic leakage may negatively impact the long-term prognosis of colorectal cancer

Background: Anastomotic leakage is a major critical complication in colorectal resection. Although its relevance to oncological outcome has been widely investigated, the correlation between the severity of anastomotic leakage and oncological outcome is not well understood. Patients and Methods: The clinical characteristics of 615 patients who underwent curative resection of colorectal cancer with anastomosis and normal healing were compared with 44 similar patients who experienced anastomotic leakage. Results: Of the 44 patients, seven had grade A anastomotic leakage, 21 had grade B and 16 had grade C. Patients with grade A and B anastomotic leakage were treated conservatively (n=28), and those with grade C (n=16) were treated surgically. Those treated surgically had significantly worse recurrence-free survival and worse cancer-specific survival. Conclusion: Anastomotic leakage had a negative prognostic impact on cancer-specific survival that depended on the severity of anastomotic leakage.