Estimation of Physiological Ability and Surgical Stress Score Is a Useful Prognostic Indicator for Elderly Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among the elderly has been increasing. Therefore, determining postoperative prognosis factors in elderly CRC patients has clinical importance. This study retrospectively investigated the prognostic significance of the estimation of physiological ability and surgical stress (E-PASS) in elderly CRC patients. Methods: This study enrolled 166 elderly patients aged 75 or more with a histopathological diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma who underwent curative surgery. Results: According to the results of receiver operating characteristic analysis, the patients were divided into the following 2 groups based on the comprehensive risk score (CRS): CRS of ≥0.05 (CRSHigh) and CRS of < 0.05 (CRSLow). The 5-year overall survival rates of CRSHigh group and CRSLow group were 51.1 and 89.6%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Furthermore, 5-year disease-specific survival rates of CRSHigh group and CRSLow group were 81.4 and 96.3%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.017). Also, multivariate analysis indicated that CRS was an independent prognostic indicator in elderly CRC patients. With regard to the cause of death, both recurrence and cancer-unrelated deaths were observed significantly more in the CRSHigh group than in the CRSLow group. Conclusions: E-PASS was a useful prognostic indicator in elderly CRC patients.