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STUDY OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of recovery from anesthesia on patients subjected to laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer under epidural block combined with general anesthesia or general anesthesia by means of Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) questionnaire. DESIGN Prospective randomized trial. SETTING The setting is at an operating room, a post-anesthesia care unit, and a hospital ward. PATIENTS Seventy patients, aging from 65 to 79 years with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status II or III, were scheduled to undergo laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer. INTERVENTIONS Epidural block combined with general anesthesia or general anesthesia. MEASUREMENTS The QoR-15 was administered by an investigator blind to group allocation before surgery (T0), at 24 and 72h after surgery (T1 and T2), and on postoperative day 7 (T3). The quality of recovery, as assessed by the score on the QoR-15, was compared between the groups. Besides, the consumption of anesthetics, respiratory recovery time, response time, extubation time, flatus time, the incidence of nausea or vomiting, the consumption of antiemetic and analgesic agents, and the duration of the hospital stay were also recorded. MAIN RESULTS The QoR-15 scores at T1 and T2 were significantly higher in the E + G group compared with the G group (P < 0.05). Among the five dimensions of the QoR-15, physiological comfort, physiological independence, pain, and emotional dimension were significantly better at T1 in the E + G group, and physiological comfort and pain were significantly better at T2 in the E + G group. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that epidural block combined with general anesthesia can improve the early recovery of elderly patients after laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer from the perspective of patients.