Charlson comorbidity index for evaluatiοn οf the outcomes of elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer.

PURPOSE We investigated the effectiveness of the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) for predicting postoperative 30-day complications and long-term survival outcomes of elderly patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer with radical intent. METHODS We reviewed 178 patients aged ≥70 years who underwent laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer with radical intent between January 2008 and December 2015. Patients were divided into high CCI (CCI ≥ 3; n=71) and low CCI (CCI < 3; n=107) groups for comparative analyses of differences in their short- and long-term outcomes. RESULTS Postoperative 30-day complications were more frequent in the high CCI group than in the low CCI group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a high CCI was significantly predictive of postoperative 30-day complications. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 65% and 54% for the low and high CCI groups, respectively (p=0.034) and their 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 60% and 47%, respectively (p=0.030). CONCLUSION CCI predicted the likelihood of postoperative 30-day complications and long-term survival outcomes of elderly patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer with radical intent.