Evaluation of Peroperative and Oncological Results in Laparoscopic Surgery of Gastric Cancer in Elderly Patients: Single-Center Study

Introduction:Laparoscopic treatment of gastric cancer in elderly patients is still controversial. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic gastrectomy in elderly gastric cancer patients based on the long- and short-term results of laparoscopic surgery. Materials and Methods:The data of 163 patients who underwent laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Patients were categorized into two groups by age based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria: elderly (>= 65 years, 80 cases) and nonelderly (<65 years, 83 cases). Patient characteristics and clinicopathological findings, surgical findings, short- and long-term results were compared between the two groups. Results:The patients in the study group were in the age range of 22-87 years and 80 (49%) patients were found out to be 65 years old or older. When all complications were categorized according to Clavien-Dindo (C-D) classification, >3 serious complication rates were similar between groups (P = .421). Although the length of hospital stay and the need for intensive care were higher in the elderly group, the difference was not significant (P = .066;P = .072). There was no significant difference between the two in terms of in-hospital mortality (P = .364). No statistically significant differences were found in the rates of overall survival (nonelderly group; 61.17 +/- 3.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 54.61-67.74 versus elderly group; 56.48 +/- 3.80, 95% CI: 49.03-63.93;P = .176) and disease-specific survival (nonelderly group; 64.24 +/- 3.15, 95% CI: 58.06-70.40 versus elderly group; 61.93 +/- 3.57, 95% CI: 54.93-68.93;P = .363) between the age groups. Conclusion:In conclusion, although laparoscopic gastrectomy is a feasible and safe method in elderly gastric cancer patients, further randomized prospective studies are needed.