Trends in Treatment and Survival in Older Patients Presenting with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

Trends in the use of modern chemotherapeutic regimens, primary tumor resection, and the timing of chemotherapy and resection in older patients with stage IV colorectal cancer have not been evaluated. We used Cancer Registry- and Medicare-linked data (2000–2009) to describe time trends in resection of the primary tumor and receipt of chemotherapy in patients ≥66 presenting with stage IV colorectal cancer (N = 16,168). The mean age was 77.8 ± 7.3 years; 53.8 % were women and 82.9 % were white. Primary cancer sites were colon in 83.4 % and rectum in 16.6 %. Resection of the primary tumor decreased from 64.6 to 57.1 % (P