Aim: To evaluate the validity of surgical therapy for colorectal liver metastases in the elderly patients.
Patients and methods: Between 1992 and 2004, 401 patients were diagnosed as having liver metastases from colorectal cancer. These comprised 64 patients aged 75 years or older and 337 patients aged less than 75 years.
Results: Two hundred and thirty-two patients (57.9%) underwent potentially curative hepatic resection. Postoperative complications occurred in 29.6% of the older patients and in 23.4% of the younger patients. Mortality was 0% in the older group and 0.5% in the younger group. The overall 5-year survival rates of the older and younger group were 33.2% and 47.9%, respectively (p < 0.01). The proportion of patients who died of other diseases was significantly higher in the older (11.1%) than the younger group (2.0%) (p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Age cannot be regarded as a medical contraindication for hepatic resection of colorectal liver metastases.