ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and surgical treatment of gastric cancer in elderly patients.Methods The clinical data of 431 patients older than 70 years with gastric cancer from 1984 to 1998 were analyzed retrospectively.Results The main clinical manifestations were upper abdominal pain,distension or upset,loss of appetite and weight.The patients with clinicalⅢ,Ⅳ stage accounted for 64.2 percent.Pathological findings showed no specificity.Radical gastrectomy was performed in 215 cases(49.9%),and palliative resection was done in 122 ones(28.3%).The operative mortality and postoperative complication rate were 5.1%and 25.5%in the patients respectively.The 5-year survival rate was 29.5%in the patients with surgery,53.2%with radical gastrectomy and 10.7%with palliative resection.There were significant differences in 5-year survival rate between the radical and palliative groups.Conclusions The majority of elderly patients are clinical Ⅲ,Ⅳ stages and their operative complication rate is high.The key to increase the survival rate and life quality of elderly patients with gastric cancer is early diagnoses,strong perioperative management and suitable radical surgery.