title: Preoperative assessment and risk factors in the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer: the role of age.
abstract: Esophageal cancer is essentially a disease of the elderly. Several studies suggested that age per se should not be considered a risk factor for surgical mortality and morbidity, and access to surgical treatment should not be denied only on the basis of age. Indeed, advanced age may represent an indicator of several factors such as comorbidity or poor physical performance which in turn can increase surgical risk and dramatically reduce life expectancy. Therefore, a careful preoperative assessment of these factors, with particular regard to comorbid conditions (such as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases), the physiological status, and social habits is necessary in elderly adults. In consideration of the need of a multidisciplinary assessment to identify comorbidities and operative risk, a close collaboration of pneumologists, cardiologists, radiologists, oncologists, thoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, geriatric specialists, physical therapists is highly recommendable.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Gerontologiche, Geriatriche e Fisiatriche, Centro Medicina dell'Invecchiamento Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Policlinico A. Gemelli, Roma, Italy. giuseppe_colloca@rm.tiscali.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colloca
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tosato
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zuccalà
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bernabei
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D018579:Patient Selection; D011300:Preoperative Care; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors