Telomere Length in Predicting Toxicity in Older Patients With Stage III-IV Colorectal Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the relationship between pre-treatment telomere length (TL) and rate of grade 3 or higher adverse events occurring on front line leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX)-based chemotherapy among patients over the age of 70 with early stage or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the impact of the FOLFOX-based chemotherapy treatment on peripheral blood lymphocyte telomere length. II. To evaluate the association between pre-treatment geriatric assessment tools scores, telomere length, and the incidence of chemotherapy related adverse events among older early stage or metastatic CRC patients. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the association between pre-treatment levels of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer and incidence of chemotherapy related adverse events. II. To evaluate the correlation between pre-treatment telomere length, levels of other biomarkers of aging (IL6, CRP, D-dimer), and rates of adverse events with FOLFOX-based chemotherapy. OUTLINE: Patients undergo blood sample collection for analysis via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. After completion of study, patients are followed up every 3 months for up to 2 years.