Poorly differentiated cluster grade-a vital predictor for lymph node metastasis and oncological outcomes in patients with T1 colorectal cancer: a retrospective study

Background T1 colorectal cancers have a low lymph node metastasis rate and good prognosis. Thus, endoscopic resection is an attractive choice. This study aimed to describe the value of poorly differentiated cluster grade in identifying endoscopically curable T1 colorectal cancers. Methods We included 183 T1 colorectal cancer patients who underwent curative resection. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify lymph node metastasis predictors. The Akaike information criterion was used to determine whether poorly differentiated cluster grade was the best predictor. Backward regression was used to screen the variables. Survival analyses were conducted to determine the prognostic predictive power of poorly differentiated cluster grade. Correlations among predictors and concordance between our pathologists were also investigated. Results Poorly differentiated cluster grade was an independent predictor for lymph node metastasis (adjusted odds ratio [OR] G 3 = 0.001; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] G 3 = < 0.001, 0.139) in T1 colorectal cancer patients; moreover, it had the best predictive value (AIC = 61.626) among all indicators. It was also screened for inclusion in the predictive model. Accordingly, a high poorly differentiated cluster grade independently indicated shorter overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] G 2 = 4.315; 95% CI G 2 = 1.506, 12.568; HR G 3 = 5.049; 95% CI G 3 = 1.326, 19.222) and disease-free survival (HR G 3 = 6.621; 95% CI G 3 = 1.472, 29.786). Conclusions Poorly differentiated cluster grade is a vital reference to manage T1 colorectal cancer. It could serve as an indicator to screen endoscopically curable T1 colorectal cancers.