Survival and quality of life after palliative surgery for neoplastic gastrointestinal obstruction

Objective: The aim was to identify the prognostic factors which relate to t he results, in terms of survival and quality of life, of palliative surgery in cancer patients presenting with an occlusion. Methods: The files of 109 patients with a neoplasm who were operated on for occlusion between 1990 and 2000 have been re-examined. The prognostic fact ors studied were age, sex, the location of the primary tumour the extension of the cancer at the time of the operation, and the surgical procedure car ried out. The impact on the quality of life was assessed by the resumption of transit and the return home. Results: The median survival was 64 days and the peroperative mortality was 21%. The quality of life of patients has been improved in 65% of cases. Th e only factors clearly correlating to survival and the success of the opera tion are the aetiological diagnosis of the occlusion (local recurrence bett er than carcinomatosis) and the type of procedure. it was possible to carry out (resection better than bypass). Conclusion: Palliative surgery can, in a certain number of cases, improve t he quality of life of patients, but it has not been possible for us to demo nstrate prognostic factors which would allow the selection of patients who could benefit the most from such surgery. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.