Adenocarcinoma of gastric cardia in the elderly： Surgical problems and prognostic factors
摘要
60 year old (31) were excluded; we also excluded 18 out of 109 patients with poor general status or systemic metastases. So, we compared 51 elderly (≥ 70 year old)and 58 younger patients (≤ 60 year old). The treatment was esophagectomy for type Ⅰ tumors, and extended gastrectomy and distal esophagectomy for type Ⅱ and Ⅲ lesions.RESULTS: Laparotomy was carried out in 91 patients (83.4%), 38 in the elderly (74.5%) and 53 in younger patients (91.3%, P＜0.05). Primary resection was performed in 811 cases (89%) without significant differences between the two groups. Postoperative death was higher in the elderly (12.1%) than the other group (4.1%, P＜0.05), while morbidity was similar in both groups. A curative resection (R0) was performed in 59 patients (72.8%), 69.6% in the elderly and 75% in the younger group (P＞0.05). The overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 26.7% and 117.8% respectively for the elderly and 40.7% and 35.1% respectively for younger patients (P = 0.1544). Survival rates were significantly associated with R0 resection,pathological node-positive category and tumor differentiation in both groups.CONCLUSION: As the age of the general population increases, more elderly patients with gastric cardia cancer will be candidates for surgical resection. Age alone should not preclude surgical treatment in elderly patients with gastric cardia cancer and a tumor resection can be carried out safely. Certainly, we should take care in defining the surgical treatment in elderly patients, particularly as regarding the surgical approach; although the surgical approach does not influence the