title: Role of surgery for colorectal cancer in the elderly.
abstract: The prevalence of subjects with colorectal cancer is expected to grow in the next future decades and surgery represents the most successful treatment modality for these patients. Anyway, currently elderly subjects undergo less elective surgical procedures than younger patients mainly due to the high rates of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Some authors suggest extensive surgery, including multistage procedures, as carried out in younger patients while others promote less aggressive surgery. In older patients, laparoscopic-assisted colectomy showed a number of advantages compared to conventional open surgery that include lower stress, higher rate of independency after surgery, quicker return to prior activities and a decrease in costs. The recent advances in chemotherapy and the introduction of new surgical procedures such as the endoluminal stenting, suggest the need for a revisitation of surgical practice patterns and the role of palliative surgery, mainly for patients with advanced disease. In this article, we discuss the current role of surgery for elderly patients with colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biondi
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vacante
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Immacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ambrosino
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cristaldi
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pietrapertosa
authors.affiliation: Antonio Biondi, Francesco Basile, Department of Surgery, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Basile
keywords: Colorectal cancer; Colorectal surgery; Comorbidities; Elderly; Laparoscopy