Short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision in elderly patients with right colon cancer

This study was designed to compare the short- and long-term outcomes between elderly and middle-aged patients who underwent laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision for right colon cancer. A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and follow-up data of 108 patients undergoing laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision at our institution between January 2012 and January 2018. Patients were grouped according to their age at the time of operation into the elderly group (≥ 70 years old, 46 cases) and the middle-aged group (55 years old ≤ age ≤ 69 years old, 62 cases). Comparisons of short- and long-term outcomes were done between these two groups. When comparing baseline data, the Charlson comorbidity index and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores were higher among elderly patients. Comparisons of other baseline data showed no statistically significant differences. With the exception of a higher intraoperative blood loss recorded among elderly patients, comparisons of other short-term outcomes such as operation duration, blood transfusion rate, conversion to open surgery, incidence and severity of complications 30 days after surgery, pathological results, and compliance with chemotherapy showed no statistically significant differences. Long-term follow-up results indicated that recurrences were somewhat similar between these two groups of patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that age was not an independent predictor of overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS). Similar short- and long-term outcomes can be achieved among elderly and middle-aged patients with right colon cancer who underwent laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision. Age is not a limiting factor in the application of laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision.