Survival in older adults with colorectal cancer: a literature review

Background: colorectal cancer is the most common malignant neoplasia that can occur in the digestive system. There has been a gradual increase in Latin America, Cuba presents health indicators similar to developed nations, and colorectal cancer is the third cause of death. Objective: to provide a theoretical and updated collection of research related to survival in older adults with colorectal cancer. Methods: a bibliographic review was carried out with the bibliographic analysis method without language restrictions, the Lilacs, Medline, PubMed and SciELO databases were consulted. They were used as keywords: survival, colorectal cancer, elderly. Results: colorectal cancer can be asymptomatic, the symptoms and signs will also depend on the location of the tumor. Colorectal cancer, for the most part, is detected in the symptomatic stage, 50% of these late diagnosis patients are in an advanced stage of the tumor. The survival of older adults with colorectal cancer also depends on their presentation and quality of life. Conclusions: survival in older adults with colorectal cancer is influenced by the patient's age, stage at the time of diagnosis, presentation of the nosological entity, surgical approach, style and quality of life before and after being diagnosed. DeCS: COLORECTAL NEOPLASMS/mortality; COLORECTAL NEOPLASMS/diagnosis; SURVIVAL; AGED; QUALITY OF LIFE.