Survival associated with 5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy among elderly patients with node-positive colon cancer

Abstract

Background: Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy after surgical resection of node-positive colon cancer. Although this treatment became the standard in 1990 following a National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference, among those at least 65 years of age it is less likely to be offered to older or nonwhite patients. Objective: To determine the association between 5-FU-based chemotherapy and survival in older patients. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Combined database of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program and Medicare. Patients: 4768 patients 65 yea..