Stage III Colon Cancers

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
COLORECTAL carcinoma is the most common gastrointestinal tract malignant condition in the United States. It is estimated that more than 50% of patients who are diagnosed as having this malignant condition will eventually die from metastatic disease. In 1989, a randomized prospective trial1 was published, showing increased survival in patients with stage III cancer who received fluorouracil and levamisole hydrochloride compared with a nontreatment control group. In 1990, a larger series2 confirmed this observation. Subsequently, endorsement of this treatment regimen by a National Institutes of Health consensus study3 led to the recommendation that all patients with stage III cancer should be treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. While this disease affects young adults, it is increasingly seen in elderly patients, and the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in elderly patients has been addressed only to a limited degree. In a 1993 review from Monroe County,4 New York, the calculated early dose intensity was significantly less in patients aged 75 years and older compared with patients younger than 75 years. Since cancer is a disease of aging, the need for chemotherapy in elderly patients is an increasingly important issue. This study assesses the use of adjuvant chemotherapy in an aging population from the time when the initial recommendation for therapy with fluorouracil and levamisole was made.