546 Background: The treatment standard for rectal cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CXRT) and radical resection includes adjuvant chemotherapy (CT). The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics in relation to adjuvant CT use. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients ≥ 65 years old with rectal cancer treated by neoadjuvant CXRT and radical resection in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-linked Medicare database (1998-2007, Medicare Part A/B only) was performed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess CT utilization in relation to patient, tumor and treatment response characteristics. Results: Among 1344 patients who met study criteria, 748 (55.6%) received adjuvant CT with 5-fluorouracil (FU) including 189 (25.3%) who also received oxaliplatin (Ox). ypStage was the strongest determinant of both any post-operative CT (43.1% stage I, 51.3% stage II, 73.4% stage III). Other associated factors included age, comorbidity, marital status and surgery type. In addition, age, socioeconomic status, and grade were associated with Ox use. These effects persisted even after exclusion of patients with comorbidities. Conclusions: Although standard treatment guidelines for locally advanced rectal cancer include postoperative CT for all patients after neoadjuvant CXRT and radical resection, nearly 1 in 2 patients failed to receive adjuvant CT. Despite the absence of established evidence, treatment decisions appear to be influenced by the findings at surgical pathology. [Table: see text]