ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinicopathological features and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients with preoperative cancer-related anemia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 354 patients with colorectal cancer in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College from January 2003 to July 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Those with hemoglobin(Hb)<120 g/L before surgery were defined as cancer-related anemia.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 354 colorectal cancer cases, 195 were males and 159 were females. The median age was 65(range 22-92) years. Preoperative cancer-related anemia tended to be occurred in female(P<0.01) and those with preoperative albumin ≤35 g/L (P<0.01), right colon cancer(P<0.01) and full-thickness invasion(P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed preoperative cancer-related anemia was an independent unfavorable factor for overall survival (HR=1.60, 95% CI:1.05-2.44; P<0.05), but not for disease-free survival (HR=1.43, 95% CI:0.97-2.12; P>0.05) in colorectal cancer.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Preoperative cancer-related anemia plays an important role in the development and prognosis of colorectal cancer and great attention should be paid to clinical practice.</p>