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. 2020 Oct;36(5):323-329.
doi: 10.3393/ac.2020.01.19.2. Epub 2020 Oct 31.

Colorectal Cancer in Octogenarian and Nonagenarian Patients: Clinicopathological Features and Survivals

Soo Min Lee  1 , Jun Sang Shin  1
Affiliations

Colorectal Cancer in Octogenarian and Nonagenarian Patients: Clinicopathological Features and Survivals

Soo Min Lee et al. Ann Coloproctol. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Elderly population will comprise a substantial proportion of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. We examined patients older than 80 years according to their clinical and pathological characteristics to fully understand the elderly patients.

Methods: CRC patients, 60 years or older at diagnosis, admitted between 2009 and 2014 at our hospital were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups: elderly (aged > 80 years, n = 133), and controls (aged 60 to 79 years, n = 596). Patient's demographics, risk factors for prognosis of CRC, Clinicopathological parameters, treatment, and survival rates were compared.

Results: The mean ages were 83.9 and 64.8 years, respectively. Male-to-female ratio and tumor sidedness were comparable in both groups. Prognostic factors found in univariate analysis; differentiation, stage, lymphovascular invasion, and carcinoembryonic antigen showed no statistical difference. The microsatellite instability status and number of retrieved lymph nodes were also similar (17.2 vs 21.6, P = 0.505). A significant difference was found in the treatment approach for chemotherapy as the elderly patients with stage III and IV tend to have omitted adjuvant (43.6% vs. 92.8%, P < 0.001) or palliative (35.8% vs. 89.4%, P = 0.016) chemotherapy. Except in stage I, elderly patients showed significantly lower overall survival rates.

Conclusion: Current study shows far-elderly patients with CRC were less likely to receive standard treatments, which might have resulted in an inferior outcome. As the number of elderly patients with CRC increase, our results provide a basis for further clinical and molecular investigations of elderly CRC patients.

Keywords: 80 and over aged; Colorectal neoplasms; Survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Five-year survival analysis in the elderly and control group with colorectal cancer. (A) Overall survival (P=0.005). (B) Disease-free survival (P=0.001). (C) Disease-free survival, stage I (P=0.450). (D) Disease-free survival, stage II (P=0.010). (E) Disease-free survival, stage III (P=0.001). (F) Disease-free survival, stage IV (P=0.014).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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