Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine surgical and survival outcomes in the elderly (65–79 years of age) and the very elderly (≥80 years of age) who received surgery for gastric cancer.
Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the records of patients ≥65 years old who received a gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma. Demographic, clinical, and pathological data were extracted from the medical records. Patients were divided into two groups: those 65–79 years of age and those ≥80 years of age. Data and survival outcomes were compared between the groups.
Results: Sixty-four patients were included, 32 males and 32 females. The mean age in the 65–79 years old group was 73.4 ± 4.5 years, and in the ≥80 years group was 85.2 ± 3.4 years (p < .001). Three patients in the older group had chronic kidney disease, as compared to none in the 65–79 years group (p = .04); all other demographic, clinical, tumor, and surgical characteristics were similar between the groups, except for surgical time (all, p > .05). Patients ≥80 years had a higher incidence of pulmonary complications (24% vs 4.7%, p = .03), but there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality. The ≥80 years group had a higher overall survival, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (42.9% and 34.9%, p = .224).
Conclusions: Curative intent resection, gastrectomy with D1+/D2 lymph node dissection is a viable option for elders ≥80 years old with gastric carcinoma.
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Declaration of funding
This manuscript received no funding.
Declaration of financial/other relationships
The authors report no conflict of interest. CMRO peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.
Acknowledgements
None reported.