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BACKGROUND
This investigation assessed the baseline mortality-adjusted survival after colon cancer resection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In total, 523 patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon who underwent primary colon resection at Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland, between 1996 and 2008 were included.

RESULTS
The median follow-up was 25 months for all patients and 39 months for those who survived until the end of the follow-up. The 5-year relative survival rate was 63.2 % (95 % CI 57.3-69.6 %), and the overall survival rate was 52 % (95 % CI 47.6-57.7 %). After curative resection of stage I-III colon cancer, 40 % of the observed deaths were cancer-related and 60 % reflected the baseline mortality. In stage I, the 5-year relative survival was 103.2 % (95 % CI 91.4-116.5 %) and was not different from a matched population (p = 0.820). In multivariate analysis, good general health and less advanced cancer stages were associated with better relative and overall survival rates. A more advanced age was associated with better relative survival, but worse overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of relative survival of patients exclusively with colon cancer revealed that prognosis of patients suffering from stage I colon cancer does not differ significantly from that of the general population. In more advanced stages, a relevant fraction of deaths is not cancer-related. As the stage determines a patient's survival, early diagnosis is crucial for prognosis.