Matched analysis of long-term oncological outcomes between watch-and-wait strategy and radical surgery after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients in the watch-and-wait and radical surgery groups, n (%)/mean ± SD

Characteristic	Watch-and-wait group (n = 45)	Radical surgery group (n = 45)	Statistic	P value
Age (years)	58 (52-65)	60 (54-66)	Z = 0.891	0.373
Sex			χ2 = 0.000	1.000
Male	28 (62.22)	28 (62.22)
Female	17 (37.78)	17 (37.78)
BMI (kg/m2)	23.55 ± 2.84	23.86 ± 3.12	t = 0.485	0.629
ASA grade			χ2 = 0.211	0.900
I	18 (40.00)	16 (35.56)
II	24 (53.33)	26 (57.78)
III	3 (6.67)	3 (6.67)
Baseline cT stage			χ2 = 0.200	0.905
cT2	10 (22.22)	9 (20.00)
cT3	32 (71.11)	33 (73.33)
cT4a	3 (6.67)	3 (6.67)
Baseline cN stage			χ2 = 0.467	0.792
cN0	15 (33.33)	13 (28.89)
cN1	22 (48.89)	24 (53.33)
cN2	8 (17.78)	8 (17.78)
Tumor distance from anal verge (cm)	4.22 ± 1.57	4.05 ± 1.62	t = 0.499	0.619
Pre-treatment CEA (ng/mL)	3.8 (2.1-6.5)	4.1 (2.3-7.0)	Z = 0.612	0.541
Assessment interval (weeks)	10.23 ± 1.17	10.49 ± 1.36	t = 0.962	0.339

BMI: Body mass index; ASA: American Society of Anesthesiologists (Physical Status Classification System); CEA: Carcinoembryonic antigen.