['The presence of an inflammatory response resulting from bowel perforation or anastomotic leakage has been suggested to enhance recurrence rates in colorectal cancer patients. Currently, it is unknown if bowel perforation or anastomotic leakage has prognostic significance in early stage colon cancer patients. In this study, the impact of peri-operative bowel perforation including anastomotic leakage on disease-free survival of stage I/II colon cancer patients was investigated.', 'Prospective follow up data of 448 patients with stages I/II colon cancer that underwent resection were included. Patients who died within 3 months after initial surgery were excluded.', 'Median follow up was 56.0 months. Patients with peri-operative bowel perforation (n\u2009=\u200925) had a higher recurrence rate compared to patients without perforation (n\u2009=\u2009423), 36.0 % vs. 16.1 % (p\u2009=\u20090.01). Disease-free survival was significantly worse for the perforation group compared to patients without perforation (p\u2009=\u20090.004). Multivariate analysis including T-stage, histological grade, and adjuvant chemotherapy showed peri-operative bowel perforation to be an independent factor significantly associated with disease recurrence (odds ratio, 2.7; 95 % CI, 1.1-6.7).'] Is peri-operative bowel perforation in early stage colon cancer associated with an adverse oncological outcome?