Rectal cancer neoadjuvant treatment in elderly patients

The aim of the study was to evaluate the differences in terms of toxicity and feasibility of neoadjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5FU) continuous infusion (c.i.) or bolus in combination with pelvic radiotherapy (RT) in locally advanced rectal cancer "fit" or "vulnerable" elderly patients. A secondary endpoint was to identify any specific comorbidity that affected either effectiveness or morbidity of treatment.From June 2000 to June 2005, 36 patients over 70 years of age out of a total of 88 consecutive elderly cases were retrospectively examined. Variables considered were age, gender, modality of 5FU administration and comorbidities (evaluated according to Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric, CIRS-G).Median age was 74 years (range, 70-82) years and the male:female ratio, 22:14. Fourteen % of the patients healthy and 25% with slight comorbidities were considered "fit" and 61% "vulnerable". All the patients received the full course of RT. The mean number of chemotherapy weeks was 5.34 (range, 2-6); "vulnerable" patients did not experience higher toxicity compared to "fit" patients (p = 0.69). Eighty-nine % of the patients were operated without relevant postoperative complications. Thirteen out of 20 "vulnerable" and 10 out of 12 "fit" patients had a pathological downstaging of disease (p = 0.24).Selected elderly "vulnerable" patients with rectal cancer can receive the same neoadjuvant 5FU-based chemoradiotherapy (either bolus or c.i.) and undergo surgery as well as "fit" elderly patients, since tolerability and response rate seem to be similar in both categories of patients.