CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SURVIVAL OF ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC-CANCER

From 1980 to 1991, Japanese patients aged over 49 years with gastric c ancer underwent gastric resection in our hospitals. For various studie s, two groups, 35 patients over 79 years (advanced age group) and 884 patients aged 50-79 years (mature age group) were prepared, A retrospe ctive study was done with special reference to clinicopathological fea tures and the prognosis. There were no differences in clinicopathologi cal characteristics between the two groups, except for operative proce dures and the size, histology and vascular involvement of the primary tumor. The survival rate for the advanced age group was higher than th at for the mature age group, with a significant difference at p=0.0055 6. However, the postoperative morbidity rate was 48.6% in the advanced age group compared with 5.1% in the mature age group. The most freque nt complications were respiratory-related, that is, atelectasis, pneum onia or aspiration pneumonia. Based on these data, advanced age is not a contraindication for resection of a gastric cancer, but patients wi th serious pulmonary and/or cardiac diseases would not be candidates.