Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2025
Application of the En Bloc Concept Combined with Anatomic Resection in Laparoscopic Hepatectomy
Published on: March 10, 2023
Potential Role of Surgical Resection for Gallbladder Cancer in Elderly Patients
Yasuhiro Ueda1, Hiroaki Yanagimoto1, Tetsuo Ajiki1
1Department of Surgery, Division of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Introduction:
With the aging of the population in Japan, gallbladder cancer (GBC) in the elderly is increasing. However, the available clinical data are limited, and the optimal treatment is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of surgical resection in GBC patients ≥75 years of age.
Methods:
A retrospective single center analysis of patients who had undergone surgical resection for GBC between 2000 and 2019 was carried out. Patients aged ≥75 years (elderly group, n = 24) or <75 years (younger group, n = 50) were compared.
Results:
Both younger and elderly patients exhibited similar clinicopathological characteristics, but comorbidity in the latter was significantly greater, as was the frequency of less invasive surgery. Nonetheless, the incidence of postoperative complications was similar in elderly and younger patients. The proportion of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy was lower in the elderly. Overall survival of elderly and younger patients was not significantly different (65.0 vs 62.4% at 5 years, P = .600). In multivariate analysis, residual tumor status but not age was an independent prognostic factor.
Discussion:
This study demonstrated that appropriate surgical treatment of elderly GBC patients was safe and effective, despite their having more comorbidities and lower rates of adjuvant chemotherapy than younger patients.
