Photo Credit: iStock.com/peterschreiber.media

The following is a summary of “Characteristics and role of surgery in nonagenarians with colorectal cancer: SEER database analysis,” published in the May 2025 issue of Surgery by Gefen et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the characteristics of the patients aged ≥90 years with colon and rectal cancer and the role of surgical intervention in this age group.  

They analyzed Older Adults (OAs) with colon and rectal cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2000 and 2020. The study assessed patient characteristics and compared those who underwent surgery with those who did not. The primary outcome measure was the effect of surgery on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival.  

The results showed that 23,149 OAs were included, with 65.2% being female. The most common cancer sites were the right colon (47.9%), left colon (21.1%), and rectum (19.1%). Early-stage cancer (stage I or II) accounted for 48.2% of cases. Around 30% of patients did not undergo surgery. Of the 89.2% of patients who died, 42.9% had colon or rectal cancer as the cause. Surgery provided an 18-month survival benefit for OS and an 11-month benefit for cancer-specific survival. This survival benefit was more pronounced in early-stage disease when stratified by the tumor-node-metastasis stage.  

Investigators concluded that surgical treatment in OAs with colon and rectal cancer was linked to improved survival and should be considered based on overall health, disease stage, and individual preferences. 

Source: surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(25)00013-3/fulltext