Comparison of the surgical outcomes of minimally invasive and open surgery for octogenarian and older compared to younger gastric cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Chien-An Liu; Kuo-Hung Huang; Ming-Huang Chen; Su-Shun Lo; Fen-Yau Li, Anna; Chew-Wun Wu; Yi-Ming Shyr; Wen-Liang Fang; Liu, Chien-An; Huang, Kuo-Hung; Chen, Ming-Huang; Lo, Su-Shun; Li, Anna Fen-Yau; Wu, Chew-Wun; Shyr, Yi-Ming; Fang, Wen-Liang

<bold>Background: </bold>As life expectancy continues to increase around the world, the use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) could be beneficial for octogenarian and older gastric cancer patients.<bold>Methods: </bold>A total of 359 gastric cancer patients who underwent curative surgery between March 2011 and March 2015 were enrolled; 80 of these patients (22.2%) were octogenarians and older. Surgical approaches included MIS (50 laparoscopic and 65 robotic) and open surgery (n = 244). Surgical outcomes of MIS and open surgery in octogenarian and older patients were compared with younger patients.<bold>Results: </bold>Among octogenarian and older patients, relative to open surgery (n = 53), MIS (n = 27) was associated with less operative blood loss, a shorter postoperative hospital stay and similar rates of surgical complications and mortality. For MIS (n = 115), octogenarian and older patients exhibited similar postoperative outcomes to those of younger patients. For open surgery (n = 244), relative to younger patients, octogenarian and older patients experienced longer postoperative hospital stays, a higher rate of wound infection and a higher incidence of pneumonia.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>MIS for gastric cancer is beneficial and can be performed safely in octogenarian and older patients.

STOMACH cancer treatment; MINIMALLY invasive procedures; HEALTH outcome assessment; ONCOLOGIC surgery complications; OLDER patients; HEALTH; COMPARATIVE studies; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; LAPAROSCOPY; LONGITUDINAL method; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; RESEARCH; STOMACH tumors; EVALUATION research; SURGICAL robots; TREATMENT effectiveness; RETROSPECTIVE studies; SURGICAL blood loss

BMC Surgery, 2017, Vol 17, p1

1471-2482

Academic Journal

10.1186/s12893-017-0265-3