The research team analyzed data from 8,561 patients who underwent surgery for stage II or III colorectal cancer between 2014 and 2016, all of whom received adjuvant chemotherapy. he study focused on oxaliplatin, which is a standard component of adjuvant therapy for stage III patients and is sometimes administered to high-risk stage II cases.
Among stage III patients aged 70 or younger, those treated with oxaliplatin achieved a five-year survival rate of 84.8%, compared to 78.1% for those who did not receive the drug. In contrast, patients over 70 derived minimal survival benefit and had higher rates of treatment discontinuation, most likely due to oxaliplatin’s neurotoxic side effects.
For stage II patients, oxaliplatin offered no significant survival advantage, regardless of age.
“This study clearly shows that chemotherapy outcomes can differ by age,” Professor Kang stated. “For older patients, treatment should prioritize functional status and comorbidities over simplistic age-based guidelines.”
Supported by the ICT Innovation Talent 4.0 project and Korea’s ARPA-H initiative, the study was published in JAMA Network Open under the title 'Older Age Threshold for Oxaliplatin Benefit in Stage II to III Colorectal Cancer’.
Lim Hye Jung, HEALTH IN NEWS TEAM
press@hinews.co.kr
