Exploration of the Optimal Minimum Lymph Node Count after Colon Cancer Resection for Patients Aged 80 Years and Older

The elderly colon cancer (CC) patients are increasing and represent a heterogeneous patient group. The objectives of this study were to identify the features of lymph node examination and to explore the optimal minimum lymph node count after CC resection for patients aged ≥80. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we identified 65719 CC patients in stage I-III between 2004 and 2012, 26.0% of patients were aged ≥80. The median node count decreased with increasing age, which were 25.5, 20.2, 17.8 and 16.9 for patients aged 20–39, 40–59, 60–79, and ≥80. The rate of ≥12 nodes and the rate of node positivity for patients aged ≥80 were obviously lower than younger patients. Using X-tile analysis, we determined 9 nodes as the optimal node count for patients aged ≥80. Then, we compared the 5-year cancer specific survival (CSS) between patients with ≥9 nodes and <9 nodes. The results showed the 5-year CSSs were improved for patients with ≥9 nodes. Furthermore, the rate of node positivity and survival under the 9-node measure were equal to 12-node measure. Therefore, the lymph node examination should be discriminately evaluated for elder patients, and 9-node measure was available for patients aged ≥80.