Influence of age on the surgical treatment of cancer of the colon.

The study of 152 patients with cancer of the colon (CC) showed that age represents a factor of risk in the evolution of disease having a decisive influence on the immediate and delayed results of the surgical treatment. Over two thirds of the cases with advanced clinical stages were detected in subjects over the age of 50. In young agers the evolution of CC was severe and metastases appeared early. In old agers the incidence of disease increased and postoperative mortality was maximum. The mean postoperative survival time in the extreme age groups (young and old agers) was short in all the clinical stages.