SynthesisThe oncologist2013
Relative effectiveness and safety of chemotherapy in elderly and nonelderly patients with stage III colon cancer: a systematic review.
Synthesis in The oncologist, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bevacizumab Combined with Chemotherapy Improves Survival for Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Evidence from Meta Analysis.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- Management of Elderly Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Comprehensive Review Encompassing Geriatric Assessment.Cancers · 2025Review
- Article
- [Cross-sectoral care trajectories of patients with colorectal cancer in Saxony-Anhalt].Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)) · 2024Article
- Colorectal cancer adjuvant chemotherapy trends among a nonelderly veteran cohort at a southern veterans health administration.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2022Article
- Review
- Systemic Therapy of Common Tumours in Older Patients: Challenges and Opportunities. A Young International Society of Geriatric Oncology Review Paper.Current oncology reports · 2020Review
- Adjuvant treatment in older patients with rectal cancer: a population-based review.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2018Review
- Prognostic factors and hazard ratios in colorectal cancer patients over 80 years of age: a retrospective, 20-year, single institution review.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2018Article
- Geriatric assessment may help decision-making in elderly patients with inoperable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.British journal of cancer · 2018Article
- Geriatric Assessment Predicts Survival and Competing Mortality in Elderly Patients with Early Colorectal Cancer: Can It Help in Adjuvant Therapy Decision-Making?The oncologist · 2017Article
- Age differences in fatigue, decrements in energy, and sleep disturbance in oncology patients receiving chemotherapy.European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society · 2016Article
- The effect of glutamine intake on complications of colorectal and colon cancer treatment: A systematic review.Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2015Review
- [Colorectal cancer: prevention and curative treatment in the elderly: An appraisal from the viewpoint of geriatric gastroenterology].Der Chirurg; Zeitschrift fur alle Gebiete der operativen Medizen · 2015Review
- Article
- Effects of newly developed chemotherapy regimens, comorbidities, chemotherapy-related toxicities on the changing patterns of the leading causes of death in elderly patients with colorectal cancer.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2014Article
- Does the type of first-line regimens influence the receipt of second-line chemotherapy treatment? An analysis of 3211 metastatic colon cancer patients.Cancer medicine · 2014Article
- Clinical and demographic characteristics associated with the receipt of chemotherapy treatment among 7951 elderly metastatic colon cancer patients.Cancer medicine · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChemotherapy effectiveness in clinical practice may differ from the efficacy demonstrated in clinical trials, particularly among populations underrepresented in clinical trials, such as elderly patients with cancer. This review aims to examine the relative effectiveness of chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer in elderly versus nonelderly patients.
methodsA systematic literature review was conducted using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality approach. Literature searches were performed in Medline and Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews databases. Chemotherapy regimens approved for stage III colon cancer were reviewed. Four effectiveness and 15 safety outcomes were extracted.
resultsFrom 708 identified articles, 25 articles provided data on the relative effectiveness and safety of chemotherapy among elderly versus nonelderly patients. Four of 14 studies showed lower overall survival treatment effects, whereas one of five and one of four studies indicated more favorable treatment effects for time to progression and overall response rate. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were higher among elderly patients for cardiac disorder (2/5 studies), leukopenia (1/5), neutropenia (4/16), thrombocytopenia (2/13), febrile neutropenia (1/4), infection (2/10), dehydration (2/6), diarrhea (6/20), and fatigue (6/13). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were lower for neutropenia (2/16 studies), nausea/vomiting (1/16), and neuropathy (1/9).
conclusionThe majority of the evidence suggests that chemotherapy has similar relative effectiveness and safety for patients >65 years of age versus younger patients with stage III colon cancer. When differences are reported, treatment effects are more often worse among the elderly. This review suggests that without other reasons for withholding treatment, elderly patients should receive chemotherapy as often as nonelderly patients.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.