title: Feasibility and safety of extensive upper abdominal surgery in elderly patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the feasibility and safety of extensive upper abdominal surgery (EUAS) in elderly (>/=65 yr) patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Records of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who received surgery at our institution between January 2001 and June 2005 were reviewed. A total of 137 patients including 32 (20.9%) elderly patients were identified. Co-morbidities were present in 37.5% of the elderly patients. Optimal cytoreduction was feasible in 87.5% of the elderly while 95.2% of young patients were optimally debulked (P=0.237). Among 77 patients who received one or more EUAS procedures, 16 (20.8%) were elderly. Within the cohort, the complication profile was not significantly different between the young and the elderly, except for pleural effusion and pneumothorax (P=0.028). Elderly patients who received 2 or more EUAS procedures, when compared to those 1 or less EUAS procedure, had significantly longer operation times (P=0.009), greater blood loss (P=0.002) and more intraoperative transfusions (P=0.030). EUAS procedures are feasible in elderly patients with good general condition. However, cautious peri-operative care should be given to this group because of their vulnerability to pulmonary complications and multiple EUAS procedures.
authors.affiliation: Branch of Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Myong Cheol
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Sokbom
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Yong Jung
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Sae Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sang-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome