Adjuvant Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin for Elderly Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Adjuvant chemotherapy improves the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) following radical resection. However, the safety and efficacy of oxaliplatin-based chemotherapeutic regimens for elderly patients remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to examine the tolerability and efficacy of adjuvant CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) therapy for elderly patients in comparison with young patients.

We examined 138 Japanese patients who received adjuvant CAPOX therapy for high-risk stage II or III CRC between July 2010 and June 2021 at our hospital. Patients were divided according to an age of 70 years. Treatment details of CAPOX therapy were analyzed in association with age. Moreover, prognosis of stage III CRC was compared between the patient groups.

Twenty-three patients (17%) were ≥70 years old. Male patients were predominant in the ≥70 years group (p = 0.006). Patients ≥70 years old had more comorbidities (diabetes, p = 0.014; cardiovascular disease, p < 0.001; renal disease, p = 0.042) than patients <70 years old. There were no age-dependent differences in dose intensity, the number of cycles, or DLTs of CAPOX therapy. CSS and RFS were also similar between the ≥70 and <70 years old patients with stage III CRC.

Adjuvant CAPOX therapy was tolerable in elderly Japanese patients. The prognosis of elderly patients with stage III CRC was similar to that of their younger counterparts. Advanced age itself may not be a contraindication for adjuvant chemotherapy in CRC. Future studies with a larger patient cohort are required to confirm the present results.