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Individuals ≥80 years of age represent an increasing proportion of colon cancer diagnoses. Selecting these patients for elective surgery is challenging because of diminished overall health, functional decline, and limited data to guide decisions. The objective was to identify overall health measures that are predictive of poor survival after elective surgery in these oldest-old colon cancer patients.

Medicare beneficiaries ≥80 years who underwent elective colectomy for stage I–III colon cancer from 1992–2005 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results(SEER)-Medicare database. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis determined 90-day and 1-year overall survival. Multivariable logistic regression assessed factors associated with short-term postoperative survival.

Overall …