The role of early postoperative PET-CT in patients with pathological stage III colon cancer: Results from a large single institution study.

562Background: Current staging of patients (pts) with pathological stage III colon cancer is suboptimal; many pts still recur despite unremarkable preoperative staging work-up. We previously reported that early postoperative PET-CT can alter the stage and management of pts with high risk stage III colon cancer in up to 19% of patients. The aim of the current study was to expand the previous one to a larger cohort and to determine the role of early postoperative PET-CT in the general population of stage III colon cancer pts, regardless of their individual risk. Methods: A retrospective chart review of all consecutive pts with stage III colon cancer who underwent early postoperative PET-CT between 2007 and 2016. Demographic and clinicopathological data were collected. Results: 247 pts, 124 (50%) males, with a median age of 66 years (range, 30-92), were included. Pathological stage was IIIA, IIIB and IIIC in 18 (7.3%), 161 (65.1%) and 72 (29.1%) pts, respectively. The median number of lymph nodes retrieved w...