An examination of 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.

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. 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. 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 ( < .001). Three patients in the older group had chronic kidney disease, as compared to none in the 65-79 years group ( = .04); all other demographic, clinical, tumor, and surgical characteristics were similar between the groups, except for surgical time (all,  > .05). Patients ≥80 years had a higher incidence of pulmonary complications (24% vs 4.7%,  = .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%,  = .224). Curative intent resection, gastrectomy with D1+/D2 lymph node dissection is a viable option for elders ≥80 years old with gastric carcinoma.