Emergency Surgery for Colorectal Cancer in Patients Aged Over 90 Years: Review of the Recent Literature

Abstract

The aging of the world population is leading to an increase in the number of patients aged over ninety needing for a surgical treatment in emergency setting. Colorectal cancer in people over 90 years of age represents an ethical dilemma for surgeons and oncologists, above all when the neoplastic disease is advanced and complicated by obstruction and/or perforation. The emergency surgeon often has the crucial role of selecting which patients to submit to surgery, balancing the benefits and the high surgical risk associated with frailty, polipharmacy and comorbidities.We decided to review the recent literature to discuss the latest strate-gies in the management of colorectal cancer in emergency situations, for patients aged over ninety.