Surgical resection of gastric cancer in the octogenarian population

The medical records of 80 patients whose mean age was 81.1 years (range 80 to 94 years) were retrospectively evaluated for morbidity, mortality, and survival following gastric resection for gastric carcinoma. The overall 5-year survival of 68 patients who had undergone a total or subtotal gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma was 11%, with a mean and median survival of 25 and 175 months, respectively. In contrast, eight patients who did not undergo gastric resection for adenocarcinoma were found to have a mean and median survival of only 3.6 and 2.0 months, respectively. The 30-day perioperative morbidity and mortality rates for patients who had undergone gastric resection were 45.8% and 5.0%, respectively. The total gastric resection group had no perioperative deaths or anastomotic leaks. We conclude that with careful selection of patients and precise surgical technique, gastric resections can safely be performed in octogenarian patients with minimal morbidity and mortality.