title: Short- and Long-Term Outcomes After Gastrectomy in Elderly Gastric Cancer Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The number of elderly patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery has recently increased. We therefore evaluated the short- and long-term outcomes of elderly patients after curative gastrectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall, 824 patients were included in this retrospective study, which comprised of a non-elderly group (60-64 years; n = 558), an early-elderly group (75-79 years; n = 198), and a late-elderly group (≥80 years; n = 68) who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 2005 and 2009. Postoperative complications, according to the Clavien-Dindo classification, and survival of both elderly groups were compared with the non-elderly group. Postoperative life expectancy of the late-elderly group was compared with the corresponding aged general population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall and severe (grade III or higher) complications in the early-elderly group were comparable with the non-elderly group; however, those in the late-elderly group were significantly more common than in the non-elderly group (p = 0.013 and p = 0.043, respectively). Multivariable analysis revealed that age ≥80 years was an independent risk factor for severe complications (hazard ratio 3.02, 95 % confidence interval 1.12-8.17; p = 0.029), and the disease-specific survivals of both elderly groups were comparable with the non-elderly group in all TNM stages. Postoperative life expectancy of late-elderly patients eliminating death from recurrence was comparable with the corresponding aged general population eliminating death from gastric cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastric cancer surgery in elderly patients aged ≥80 years achieves reasonable long-term survival despite the increased risk of severe complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Surgery, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. appe98@snu.ac.kr.|Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. appe98@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyuk-Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Han
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yeon-Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Surgery, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Gil
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Surgery, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Boramae Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Seong
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun-Suhk
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Han-Kwang
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors