Table 1 Distribution of social, health and clinical patient’s variables by age groups in stage III colon cancer (n = 654)
|  | N | <  65 years N = 246 n (%) | 65–80 years N = 311 n (%) | >  80 years N = 97 n (%) | P valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sociodemographic variables | |||||
Sex | 654 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Male |  | 151 (61.4) | 205 (65.9) | 60 (61.9) | 0.50 |
 Female |  | 95 (38.6) | 106 (34.1) | 37 (38.1) | 0.65 |
Deprivation index | 624 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Quartile 1 least deprived |  | 49 (21.2) | 67 (22.3) | 17 (18.5) | 0.67 |
 Quartile 2 |  | 64 (27.7) | 101 (33.6) | 31 (33.7) | 0.78 |
 Quartile 3 |  | 67 (29.0) | 72 (23.9) | 22 (23.9) |  |
 Quartile 4 most deprived |  | 51 (22.1) | 61 (20.3) | 22 (23.9) |  |
Level of education | 534 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Illiterate or with no formal education |  | 10 (4.8) | 46 (18.2) | 15 (20.5) | < 0.0005 |
 Primary |  | 123 (59.1) | 162 (64.0) | 50 (68.5) | < 0.0005 |
 Secondary |  | 35 (16.8) | 24 (9.5) | 3 (4.1) |  |
 University |  | 40 (19.2) | 21 (8.3) | 5 (6.8) |  |
Living arrangements | 522 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Living alone |  | 23 (11.5) | 42 (17.0) | 14 (18.7) | 0.18 |
 Living with others |  | 177 (88.5) | 205 (83.0) | 61 (81.3) | 0.08 |
Family history of cancer | 584 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 No |  | 118 (52.2) | 175 (63.9) | 68 (81.0) | < 0.0005 |
 Yes |  | 108 (47.8) | 99 (36.1) | 16 (19.0) | < 0.0005 |
Screening | 622 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 No |  | 174 (74.0) | 250 (84.7) | 86 (93.5) | < 0.0005 |
 Yes |  | 61 (26.0) | 45 (15.3) | 6 (6.5) | < 0.0005 |
Health behaviours and comorbidities | |||||
Smoking habits | 648 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Never smoker |  | 112 (45.5) | 154 (50.0) | 50 (53.2) | 0.01 |
 Current smoker |  | 42 (17.1) | 31 (10.1) | 4 (4.3) | 0.79 |
 Ex-smoker |  | 92 (37.4) | 123 (39.9) | 40 (42.6) |  |
Alcohol | 612 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 No |  | 188 (83.9) | 257 (86.2) | 84 (93.3) | 0.09 |
 Yes |  | 36 (16.1) | 41 (13.8) | 6 (6.7) | 0.04 |
ASA class | 633 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 I-II |  | 175 (73.2) | 157 (52.2) | 30 (32.3) | < 0.0005 |
 III |  | 60 (25.1) | 127 (42.2) | 52 (55.9) | < 0.0005 |
 IV |  | 4 (1.7) | 17 (5.6) | 11 (11.8) |  |
Charlson Index | 654 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 0 |  | 163 (66.3) | 158 (50.8) | 40 (41.2) | < 0.0005 |
 1 |  | 49 (19.9) | 80 (25.7) | 26 (26.8) | < 0.0005 |
  ≥ 2 |  | 34 (13.8) | 73 (23.5) | 31 (32.0) |  |
Tumour characteristics | |||||
Site | 654 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Rectosigmoid junction |  | 40 (16.3) | 45 (14.5) | 11 (11.3) | 0.72 |
 Distal colon |  | 108 (43.9) | 140 (45.0) | 41 (42.3) | 0.21 |
 Proximal colon |  | 98 (39.8) | 126 (40.5) | 45 (46.4) |  |
Histological classification | 643 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Adenocarcinoma |  | 219 (91.3) | 274 (89.3) | 87 (90.6) | 0.18 |
 Mucinous adenocarcinoma |  | 16 (6.7) | 27 (8.8) | 9 (9.4) | 0.69 |
 Signet-ring cell carcinoma |  | 2 (0.8) | 6 (2.0) | 0 (0.0) |  |
 Other types of carcinoma |  | 3 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |  |
Degree of differentiation | 573 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Low grade |  | 165 (79.3) | 226 (81.9) | 79 (88.8) | 0.15 |
 High grade |  | 43 (20.7) | 50 (18.1) | 10 (11.2) | 0.07 |
Intervention | |||||
Main intervention | 654 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Elective |  | 232 (94.3) | 300 (96.5) | 87 (89.7) | 0.03 |
 Emergency |  | 14 (5.7) | 11 (3.5) | 10 (10.3) | 0.32 |
Curative resection | 618 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 R0 |  | 218 (92.4) | 261 (90.0) | 84 (91.3) | 0.63 |
 R1 / R2 |  | 18 (7.6) | 29 (10.0) | 8 (8.7) | 0.56 |
Surgeon’s profile | 615 |  |  |  |  |
 General |  | 61 (27.0) | 96 (32.5) | 36 (38.3) | 0.12 |
 Coloproctologist |  | 165 (73.0) | 199 (67.5) | 58 (61.7) | 0.04 |
Cancer committee | 617 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 No |  | 77 (32.9) | 127 (43.6) | 44 (47.8) | 0.01 |
 Yes |  | 157 (67.1) | 164 (56.4) | 48 (52.2) | 0.004 |