Standard radical gastrectomy in octogenarians and nonagenarians with gastric cancer : are short-term surgical results and long-term survival substantial?

Background The high incidence of gastric cancer among the octogenarians and nonagenarians (oldest old; age ≥80 years) is emerging as an important management issue. Herein, we report both the short-term outcomes and long-term survival results of standard radical gastrectomy in this group of patients. Methods This was a retrospective review of 164 oldest old patients (older group) and 2,258 younger patients (age <80 years; younger group) with gastric cancer who underwent curative resection between January 1994 and December 2006. Clinicopathologic data, long-term survival, and prognostic factors were analyzed. Results Clinical tumor stage did not differ between the two groups at the time of diagnosis. Higher Charlson comorbidity index scores (≥5) were observed in the older group than in the younger group; this was associated with higher postoperative morbidity (P00.035) and in-hospital mortality rates (P00.015) in the older group. At a median follow-up of 37.8 months, the overall survival rate for the older group was lower than that for the younger group (P<0.001). However, the cumulative incidence of gastric cancer-related deaths was comparable between the two groups. Nodal involvement and metastatic to retrieved lymph node ratio were the only independent predictors of survival in the older group. Conclusions Patients in the older group had a higher postoperative morbidity rate but comparable cancer-specific survival. Careful patient selection for gastrectomy is warranted in elderly patients, particularly those with high-grade nodal involvement.