Evaluation of safety, feasibility and the long-term outcomes of colorectomy for colorectal adenocarcinoma in patients older than 80 years of age

The short- and long-term outcomes of colorectomy for colorectal adenocarcinoma have not been fully evaluated in elderly patients. The present retrospective study investigated patients who underwent curative surgery for colorectal cancer at the Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University (Yokohoma, Japan). The patients were categorized into two groups: Elderly patients (70-79 years of age; group A) and extremely elderly patients (≥80 years of age; group B). The rates of surgical morbidity, surgical mortality, overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the two groups were compared. A total of 191 patients were evaluated in the current study. Of these, 137 patients were included in group A, and 54 were included in group B. With the exception of the American Society of Anesthesiology physical status score, there were no significant differences in the preoperative clinicopathological outcomes of the two groups. The overall complication rates in groups A and B were 12.4 and 16.7%, respectively, and did not differ to a statistically significant extent (P=0.440). In addition, surgical mortality was not observed in either group. The 5-year OS and RFS rates were similar between the group A and B patients (75.6 vs. 76.9%; P=0.5537; and 71.9 vs. 62.2%; P=0.192, respectively). The short-term outcomes and long-term survival following colorectomy for colorectal adenocarcinoma among patients in the 70-79 years of age group, and those who were ≥80 in the current study were almost equal. Thus, it is not necessary to avoid colorectomy for colorectal adenocarcinoma in elderly patients simply because of their age.