Safety and feasibility of laparoscopic gastrectomy accompanied by D1+ lymph node dissection for early gastric cancer in elderly patients

Introduction The age of patients with gastric cancer has increased worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for early gastric cancer in elderly patients. Methods We retrospectively investigated 221 consecutive patients who underwent LG for early gastric cancer during a 5-year period (January 2010 to December 2014). We divided the patients into two groups: elderly patients (>= 75 years old) and younger patients (<75 years old). We compared these two groups with respect to clinical characteristics, histopathological findings, intraoperative factors, and postoperative outcomes. Results The preoperative characteristics were similar in both groups. Except for the number of harvested lymph nodes (42.0 vs 34.9; P = 0.0016), the short-term operative outcomes, including postoperative complications and histopathological findings, were comparable between the two groups. Although significantly fewer lymph nodes were harvested in the elderly group, the overall survival and relapse-free survival rates did not significantly differ between the groups. Postoperative complications, such as acute cholecystitis and internal hernia, occurred during the long-term postoperative period after LG, and these unexpected complications were more frequently observed in elderly patients. All elderly patients required additional emergent surgeries for delayed complications. Conclusion The outcomes of LG for early gastric cancer in elderly patients seem to be reasonable. Aggressive lymph node dissection may be omissible in elderly patients with acceptable results. LG can be a safe and feasible procedure in elderly patients. However, the higher rate of delayed but urgent complications during the long-term postoperative period must be considered.