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Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Oct 27, 2026; 18(10): 121006
Published online Oct 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.121006
Risk factors for anastomotic leakage after radical colorectal cancer surgery and its impact on prognosis: Clinical education research
Yu Wang, Tao Wang, Zhi-Duan Xu, Su-Hang Wang, Fang-Fang Chen
Yu Wang, Tao Wang, Zhi-Duan Xu, Su-Hang Wang, Fang-Fang Chen, The Four Branches of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu 233000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Wang Y drafted the manuscript; Wang Y, Wang T, and Xu ZD collected and analyzed the data; Wang Y and Chen FF conceived and designed the study; Wang SH performed the statistical analysis; Chen FF revised it critically for important intellectual content; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using AI tools solely for language refinement. The authors carefully reviewed and verified all AI-assisted edits and assume full responsibility and accountability for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and scientific validity of the manuscript and all submitted materials.
Supported by Teaching Research Project of Bengbu Medical University, Anhui Province (Key Project), No. 2025fyjyxm10; and Scientific Research Project of Anhui Higher Education Institutions, No. 2024AH051186.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University (approval No. CB20260200021).
Informed consent statement: This study was a retrospective cohort analysis based on existing anonymized clinical records. The requirement for written informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University (approval No. CB20260200021), as no identifiable patient information was involved.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Yu Wang, Chief Physician, The Four Branches of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, No. 287 Changhuai Road, Bengbu 233000, Anhui Province, China. house2737@163.com
Received: April 28, 2026
Revised: June 8, 2026
Accepted: September 4, 2026
Published online: October 27, 2026
Processing time: 173 Days and 20.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the incidence, risk factors, and prognostic impact of anastomotic leakage (AL) after radical colorectal cancer surgery. Among 200 patients, AL occurred in 11.0% and was independently associated with body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m², diabetes mellitus, rectal tumor location, neoadjuvant therapy, hypoalbuminemia, prolonged operation time, and increased intraoperative blood loss, while protective stoma was a significant protective factor. Patients with AL had significantly worse short-term outcomes, including higher complication and reoperation rates, prolonged hospitalization, and delayed adjuvant chemotherapy. Importantly, AL was also associated with inferior long-term survival and was identified as an independent predictor of poorer disease-free survival.

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