Objective  To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors associated with appendix-derived high-grade mucinous adenocarcinoma.

  Methods  A retrospective analysis of clinical and follow-up data of 60 patients with appendix-derived highgrade mucinous adenocarcinoma admitted to Aerospace Central Hospital between January 2013 and December 2017 was carried out.

  Results  Of the patients, 48% (29 cases) were men and 52% (31 cases) were women. The median age of the patients at admission was 57 (38-74) years. CEA levels increased in serum in 65% patients (39 cases) before operation, and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy after operation accounted for 80% of the patients (48 cases). The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 80%, 58%, and 30%, respectively. The median survival time was 29 months. Univariate analysis showed that a lower peritoneal cancer index (PCI) score (P= 0.039) and a lesser degree of completeness of cytoreduction (CC) (P=0.002) were statistically significant in prolonging survival time. Multivariate analysis showed that the degree of CC could be an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P=0.037).

  Conclusions  Appendix-derived high-grade mucinous adenocarcinoma is highly invasive and features a poor prognosis, but radical tumor reduction has a positive effect on prolonging the survival of patients. Early detection and early intervention are of great significance for the prognostic outcome.