title: Comparison of surgical outcomes of gastric cancer in elderly and middle-aged patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We compared clinicopathological features and results of surgery for gastric carcinoma in elderly and middle-aged patients to develop appropriate treatment for elderly patients with gastric carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surgical results were assessed for 135 elderly patients (over 75 years old) and 665 middle-aged patients (between 45 and 65 years old) with gastric cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Distinct characteristics of elderly patients were male predominance; macroscopically well, or ill-defined, histologically differentiated tumors; and advanced stage disease. There was a significant difference in overall survival between the groups for early stage carcinomas but no difference in cause-specific survival. Postoperative morbidities did not differ between the curatively resected patients in the 2 groups. Moreover, deaths from other cancers or comorbid disease were frequent among the elderly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Meticulous treatment and follow-up not only for gastric carcinoma but also for other diseases would improve survival in elderly patients, particularly those with early-stage tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University, Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0004, Japan. s0714@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunisaki
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Hidetaka Andrew
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimada
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome