Characteristics and prognosis of gastric cancer in patients aged ≥ 70 years

AIM:To elucidate the prognostic value of age for gastric cancer and identify the optimal treatment for elderly gastric cancer patients.METHODS:We enrolled 920 patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy between January 2003and December 2007 in our center.Patients were categorized into three groups:younger group(age<50years),middle-aged group(50-69 years),and elderly group(≥70 years).Clinicopathological features were compared among the three groups and potential prognostic factors were analyzed.The log-rank test was used to assess statistical differences between curves.Independent prognostic factors were identified by the Cox proportional hazards regression model.Stratified analysis was used to investigate the impact of age on survival at each stage.Cancer-specific survival was also compared among the three groups by excluding deaths due to reasons other than gastric cancer.We analyzed the potential prognostic factors for patients aged≥70years.Finally,the impact of extent of lymphadenectomy and postoperative chemotherapy on survival for each age group was evaluated.RESULTS:In the elderly group,there was a male predominance.At the same time,cancers of the upper third of the stomach,differentiated type,and less-invasive surgery were more common than in the younger or middle-aged groups.Elderly patients were more likely to have advanced tumor-node-metastasis(TNM)stage and larger tumors,but less likely to have distant metastasis.Although 5-year overall survival(OS)rate specific to gastric cancer was not significantly different among the three groups,elderly patients demonstrated a significantly lower 5-year OS rate than the younger and middle-aged patients(elderly vs middle-aged vs younger patients=22.0%vs 36.6%vs 38.0%,respectively).In the TNM-stratified analysis,the differences in OS were only observed in patients withⅡandⅢtumors.In multivariate analysis,only surgical margin status,pT4,lymph node metastasis,M1 and sex were independent prognostic factors for elderly patients.The5-year OS rate d     

Analysis of prognostic factors and outcomes of gastric cancer in younger patients:A case control study using propensity score methods

AIM:To understand the clinicopathological and prognostic features of gastric cancer in younger and older patients.METHODS:Between January 2002 and December2008,1667 patients underwent curative gastric surgery.For comparative purposes,the patients were divided into two groups:younger patients who were less than 40 years old(112 patients),and older patients who were 40 years old and older(1555 patients).In both groups,propensity scoring methods were used to select patients with similar disease statuses.A total of224 matched cases,with 112 patients in each group,were included in the final analysis.RESULTS:Compared to the older group,the younger group with gastric cancer had a significantly higher percentage of females(P=0.007),poorly differentiated or signet ring cell carcinoma(P<0.001),advanced T stage gastric cancer(P=0.045),and advanced tumornode-metastasis stage cancer(P=0.036).The older group with gastric cancer had more comorbidities(P<0.001).With the exception of the number of lymph node dissection(P<0.001)and retrieved lymph node(P=0.010),there were no statistically significant differences between the postoperative outcomes of the two groups.During the follow-up period,there were19 recurrences in the younger group and 11 recurrences in the older group.The overall five-year survival rates in the younger and older groups were 84.3%and89.6%,respectively(P=0.172).There were no significant differences(P=0.238)in the overall survival of patients with advanced T stage gastric cancer in the two groups,with five-year survival rates of 70.8%in the younger group and 79.5%in the older group.With regard to the age-adjusted survival rate,there was significant difference between the two groups(P=0.225).CONCLUSION:In spite of aggressive cancer patterns in the younger group with gastric cancer,the younger group did not have a worse prognosis than the older group in our study.     

Influence of a microscopic positive proximal margin in the treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma of the cardia

AIM: To investigate the influence of a positive proximal margin in total gastrectomy patients with gastric adenocarcinoma of the cardia. METHODS: Medical records of 191 patients with total gastrectomies for adenocarcinoma of the cardia between 1995 and 2000 were reviewed. The clinicopathologic features associated with a positive margin were determined, and the predictors for survival were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of positive proximal margin was 8.4% (16/191). The positive margins were associated with advanced diseases. The tumor size and the depth of tumor invasion were independent risk factors for a positive margin. The mean survival in the positive margin group was 33.9 mo as compared with 62.4 mo in the negative group (P < 0.001). However, the difference in survival lost significance in subgroup analysis according to stage. Multivariate analysis identified that a positive margin was not an independent prognostic factor for survival. CONCLUSION: A positive margin is more of an indication of advanced disease in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma of the cardia rather than an independent prognostic factor for survival.     

Clinicopathological features and trend changes of gastric carcinoma in Southern China

AIM:To investigate the clinicopathological features of gastric carcinoma in southern China and disease trends changes over the last 18 years.METHODS:We designed a retrospective study in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery,the first affiliated hospital,Sun Yat-sen University.A total of 2100adult patients with definitely diagnosed,histologically proven gastric carcinomas treated with radical gastrectomy from 1994 to 2013 were examined retrospectively.In all cases patient age,gender,tumor location,Borrmann type,histopathological type and grade,and pTNM stage were identified and recorded.The information was obtained from hospital records.The data were analyzed with Stata12.0 software.RESULTS:In this study,the mean age of patients was 57 years with a range from 19-89 years.A higher incidence was found in patients over 60 years of age.In the study population,67.38%of patients were male and 32.62%were female.Women had a higher disease incidence than men in patients less than 40 years of age(P<0.001).No obvious change of patient age and gender was observed in the last 18 years.The rates of disease by location were the following:antrum(44.57%),followed by fundus/body(24.95%)and cardia/gastroesophageal junction(23.00%).The mean tumor diameter was 5.57 cm,and advanced gross type BorrmannⅢwas most common.Most patients were at advanced stages when first diagnosed,and patients with early stage disease were relatively rare.More early stage patients were detected in recent years,especially after 2000(P<0.001).Gastric carcinoma has different features in young and old patients.The young patients had the following features:more frequently female,tumors in the antrum,larger tumor size,poorly differentiated carcinoma,high rate of metastasis to other sites and advanced stages(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:In southern China,gastric carcinoma was more frequent in old men and young women.Young and old patients should be treated differently for having different features.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma in extremely elderly patients： An analysis of clinical characteristics, prognosis- and patient survival

AIM:To identify the clinical and prognostic features ofpatients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) aged 80years or more.METHODS:A total of 1310 patients with HCC wereincluded in this study.Ninety-one patients aged 80 yearsor more at the time of diagnosis of HCC were defined asthe extremely elderly group.Two hundred and thirty-fourpatients aged≥50 years but less than 60 years wereregarded as the non-elderly group.RESULTS:The sex ratio (male to female) wassignificantly lower in the extremely elderly group (0.90:1)than in the non-elderly group (3.9:1,P<0.001).The positive rate for HBsAg was significantly lower in theextremely elderly group and the proportion of patientsnegative for HBsAg and HCVAb obviously increased inthe extremely elderly group (P<0.001).There wereno significant differences in the following parameters:diameter and number of tumors,Child-Pugh grading,tumor staging,presence of portal thrombosis or ascites,and positive rate for HCVAb.Extremely elderly patientsdid not often receive surgical treatment (P<0.001) andthey were more likely to receive conservative treatment(P<0.01).There were no significant differences insurvival curves based on the Kaplan-Meier methods incomparison with the overall patients between the twogroups.However,the survival curves were significantlyworse in the extremely elderly patients with stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ,stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ and Child-Pugh grade A cirrhosis in comparisonwith the non-elderly group.The causes of death did notdiffer among the patients,and most cases died of liver-related diseases even in the extremely elderly patients.CONCLUSION:In the patients with good liver functionsand good performance status,aggressive treatment forHCC might improve the survival rate,even in extremelyelderly patients.     

Impact of postoperative TNM stages after neoadjuvant therapy on prognosis of adenocarcinoma of the gastro-oesophageal junction tumours

AIM To compare prognostic relevance of postoperative tumour/node/metastasis(TMN) stages between patients with and without neoadjuvant treatment. METHODS Data from patients with adenocarcinoma of the gastrooesophageal junction(AEG) who had undergone surgical resection at a single German university centre were retrospectively analysed. Patients with or without neoadjuvant preoperative treatment were selected by exact matching based on preoperative staging. Standard assessment of preoperative(c)TNM stage was based on endoscopic ultrasound and computed tomography of the thorax and abdomen, according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control classification system. Patients with cT1cN0cM0 and cT2cN0cM0 stages were excluded from the study, as these patients are generally not recommended for pretreatment. Longterm survival among the various postoperative TNM stages was compared between the groups of patients with or without neoadjuvant treatment. For statistical assessments, a P-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.RESULTS The study included a total of 174 patients. The group of patients who had received preoperative neoadjuvant treatment included more cases of AEG(Siewert) type 1 carcinoma(P 0.001), and consequently oesophagectomy was performed more frequently among these patients(P 0.001). The two groups(with or without preoperative neoadjuvant treatment) had comparable preoperative T stages, but the group of patients with preoperative neoadjuvant treatment presented a higher rate of preoperative N-positive disease(P = 0.020). Overall long-term survival was not different between the two groups of patients according to tumours of different AEG classifications, receipt of oesophagectomy or gastrectomy, nor between patients with similar postoperative TNM stage, resection margin and grading. However, an improvement of long-term survival was found for patients with nodal down-staging after neoadjuvant therapy(P = 0.053).CONCLUSION The prognostic relevance of postoperative TNM stages is similar for AEG in patients with or without neoadjuvant preoperative treatment, but treatment-related nodal down-staging prognosticates longer-term survival.     

Factors associated with the overall survival of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM:To identify the factors associated with overall survival of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS:A total of 286 patients with HCC(male/female:178/108,age:46-100 years),who were diagnosed and treated by appropriate therapeutic procedures between January 2000 and December 2010,were enrolled in this study.Patients were stratified into two groups on the basis of age:Elderly(≥ 75 years old) and non-elderly( 75 years old).Baseline clinical characteristics as well as cumulative survival rates were then compared between the two groups.Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the factors associated with prolonged overall survival of patients in each group.Cumulative survival rates in the two groups were calculated separately for each modified Japan Integrated Stage score(mJIS score) category by the Kaplan-Meier method.In addition,we compared the cumulative survival rates of elderly and non-elderly patients with good hepatic reserve capacity(≤ 2 points as per mJIS).RESULTS:In the elderly group,the proportion of female patients,patients with absence of hepatitis B or hepatitis C viral infection,and patients with coexisting extrahepatic comorbid illness was higher(56.8% vs 31.1%,P 0.001;27.0% vs 16.0%,P = 0.038;33.8% vs 22.2%,P = 0.047;respectively) than that in the nonelderly group.In the non-elderly group,the proportion of hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected patients was higher than that in the elderly group(9.4% vs 0%,P = 0.006).The cumulative survival rates in the elderly group were 53.7% at 3 years and 32.9% at 5 years,which were equivalent to those in the non-elderly group(55.9% and 39.4%,respectively),as shown by a log-rank test(P = 0.601).In multivariate analysis,prolonged survival was significantly associated with the extent of liver damage and stage(P 0.001 and P 0.001,respectively),but was not associated with patient age.However,on individual evaluation of factors in both groups,stage was significantly(P 0.001) associated with prolonged survival.Regarding mJIS scores of ≤ 2,the rate of female patients with this score was higher in the elderly group when compared to that in the non-elderly group(P = 0.012) and patients ≥ 80 years of age tended to demonstrate shortened survival.CONCLUSION:Survival of elderly HCC patients was associated with liver damage and stage,but not age,except for patients ≥ 80 years with mJIS score ≤ 2.     

Adenocarcinoma of gastric cardia in the elderly： Surgical problems and prognostic factors

AIM: To analyze retrospectively, our results about patients who underwent surgical treatment for adenocarcinoma of the cardia in relation to age, in order to evaluate surgical problems and prognostic factors. METHODS: From January 1987 to March 2003, 140 patients with adenocarcinoma of the cardia underwent resection in the authors' institution. They were divided into three groups with regard to age. Patients <70 and > 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 81 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 (RO) 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 17.8% respectively for the elderly and 40.7% and 35.1% respectively for younger patients (P= 0.1544). Survival rates were significantly associated with RO 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 survival rate, the transhiatal way still remains the best one due, to the lower incidence of respiratory morbidity and thoracic pain.     

Outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy in elderly patients

BACKGROUND: Although the mortality and morbidity of pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) have improved significantly over the past years, the concerns for elderly patients undergoing PD are still present. Furthermore, the frequency of PD is increasing because of the increasing proportion of elderly patients and the increasing incidence of periampullary tumors. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of PD in elderly patients.METHODS: We studied all patients who had undergone PD in our center between January 1995 and February 2015. The patients were divided into three groups based on age: group I(patients aged 60 years), group II(those aged 60 to 69 years) and group III(those aged ≥70 years). The primary outcome was the rate of total postoperative complications. Secondary endpoint included total operative time, hospital mortality, length of postoperative hospital stay, delayed gastric emptying, re-exploration, and survival rate.RESULTS: A total of 828 patients who had undergone PD for resection of periampullary tumor were included in this study. There were 579(69.9%) patients in group I, 201(24.3%) in group II, and 48(5.8%) in group III. The overall incidence of complications was higher in elderly patients(25.9% in group I, 36.8% in group II, and 37.5% in group III; P=0.006). There were more patients complicated with delayed gastric emptying in group II compared with the other two groups. There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula, biliary leakage, pancreatitis, pulmonary complications and hospital mortality.CONCLUSIONS: PD can be performed safely in selected elderly patients. Advanced age alone should not be a contraindication for PD. The outcome of elderly patients who have undergone PD is similar to that of younger patients, and the increased rate of complications is due to the presence of associated comorbidities.     

细胞因子诱导的杀伤细胞治疗老年人胃癌的次数对其生存期的影响

Objective To investigate the relevance between the times of cytokine-induced killer cell (CIK cell) adoptive immunotherapy and the survival of the elderly patients with gastric cancer.Methods Lymphocyte separation medium was used to isolate mononuclear cells, and then the cultured CIK cells were infused back into the patients with gastric cancer. A retrospective cohort study was adopted by using Kaplan-Meier to estimate median survival time and survival rate, using Log-rank test to analyze the impact of clinical factors on survival rate, and using RR and 95% CI to estimate the contact intensity of death outcome, survival time and CIK cell treatment. Results There were nostatistically significant differences in gender,age, tumor site, histological type, invasion depth, lymph node metastasis, pathological grade, tumor size or tumor distribution between chemotherapy group and CIK treatment group (all P＞0.05). The median survival time of patients with gastric cancer was significantly longer in CIK treatment group than in chemotherapy group (61 vs. 21, χ2=10.215, P=0.001). Compared with the patients treated by chemotherapy alone, the increased times of CIK treatment induced more survival rate and 2-5 years life spans (χ2=12. 461, P=0.006). Conclusions With the treatment that CIK cells are infused back into the elderly patients with gastric cancer, the risk of death is reduced, and the lifespan is prolonged, which is associated with the CIK cell treatment times.     

Factors predicting survival in patients with proximal gastric carcinoma involving the esophagus

AIM: To investigate the clinicopathologic features which predict surgical overall survival in patients with proximal gastric carcinoma involving the esophagus (PGCE).METHODS: Electronic pathology database established in the Department of Pathology of the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital was searched for consecutive resection cases of proximal gastric carcinoma over the period from May 2004 through July 2009. Each retrieved pathology report was reviewed and the cases with tumors crossing the gastroesophageal junction line were selected as PGCE. Each tumor was re-staged, following the guidelines on esophageal adenocarcinoma, according to the 7th edition of the American Joint Commission on Cancer Staging Manual. All histology slides were studied along with the pathology report for a retrospective analysis of 13 clinicopathologic features, i.e., age, gender, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, surgical modality, Siewert type, tumor Bormann’s type, size, differentiation, histology type, surgical margin, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, and pathologic stage in relation to survival after surgical resection. Prognostic factors for overall survival were assessed with uni- and multi-variate analyses.RESULTS: Patients’ mean age was 65 years (range: 47-90 years). The male: female ratio was 3.3. The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 87%, 61% and 32%, respectively. By univariate analysis, age, male gender, H. pylori, tumor Bormann’s type, size, histology type, surgical modality, positive surgical margin, lymphovascular invasion, and pT stage were not predictive for overall survival; in contrast, perineural invasion (P = 0.003), poor differentiation (P = 0.0003), > 15 total lymph nodes retrieved (P = 0.008), positive lymph nodes (P = 0.001), and distant metastasis (P = 0.005) predicted poor post-operative overall survival. Celiac axis nodal metastasis was associated with significantly worse overall survival (P = 0.007). By multivariate analysis, ≥ 16 positive nodes (P = 0.018), lymph node ratio > 0.2 (P = 0.003), and overall pathologic stage (P = 0.002) were independent predictors for poor overall survival after resection.CONCLUSION: Patients with PGCE showed worse overall survival in elderly, high nodal burden and advanced pathologic stage. This cancer may be more accurately staged as gastric, than esophageal, cancer.     

Prognostic factors in 165 elderly colorectal cancer patients

AIM: To analyse the prognostic factors in 165 colorectapatients aged ≥70.METHODS: One hundred and sixty-five elderly patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed by histology were entered into the retrospective study between 1994 and 2001. Patients were given optimal operation alone, chemotherapy after operation, or chemotherapy alone according to tumor stage,histology, physical strength, and co-morbid problems.Survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method, and compared with meaningful variances by Log-rank method.Prognostic factors were analyzed by Cox regression. RESULTS: The 1,2,3,4,5 year survival rate (all-cause mortality) was 87.76 %, 65.96 %, 52.05 %, 42.77 %, 40.51%, respectively. The mean survival time was 41.89&#177;2.33 months (95 % CI: 37.33-46.45 months), and the median survival time was 37 months. Univariate analysis showed that factors such as age, nodal metastasis, treatment method, Duke‘‘s stage, gross findings, kind of histology, and degree of differentiation had influences on the survival rate. Multivariate analysis showed that factors such as treatment method, Duke‘‘s stage, kind of histology and degree of differentiation were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the prognosis of elderly colorectal cancer patients is influenced by several factors. Most of elderly patients can endure surgery and/or chemotherapy, and have a long-time survival and good quality of life.     

The prognosis of early-stage breast cancer in extremely young female patients

Breast cancer at a young age is associated with poor outcomes. However, few reports have compared the outcomes of breast cancer between extremely young patients and elderly patients.We retrospectively collected information on patients diagnosed with breast cancer before 30 years of age. This case-control study employed matched operative methods, stage, and subtypes with a case-to-control ratio of 1:3. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival, and the secondary endpoint was overall survival. We analyzed potential prognostic factors in univariate and multivariate analyses.This analysis included 18 patients in the young group with a median age of 28.5 years and 54 patients in the control group with a median age of 71 years. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 68.8% in the former group and 84.6% in the latter group (P = .080). The 5-year overall survival was 87.1% and 91.2% in the young and old groups, respectively (P = .483). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size and triple-negative breast cancer was major prognostic factors of poorer disease-free survival in the young group.Extremely young breast cancer patients had a trend to develop a poorer disease-free survival than old patients, but not a poorer overall survival. Aggressive treatment for young patients at early stages of disease would improve survival.     

Choice of the surgical treatment in early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The authors report their experience in choosing the surgical treatment for early gastric cancer. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective study was conducted to examine the long-term outcome of 18 patients with early gastric cancer (10%) on a series of 180 patients treated for gastric carcinoma by the same surgical équipe from January 1986 to June 1997. Radical surgery with gastrectomy and extended lymphadenectomy ("regional" from 1986 to 1991; D2 from 1992 to 1997) was chosen as standard treatment for early gastric cancer except in elderly or high-risk patients and in cases of mucosal tumors diagnosed at definitive histology after surgery for benign diseases in which limited surgery was performed. RESULTS: All patients received curative (R0) surgery. One patient with mucosal-N1 tumor and another one with submucosal-N0 tumor died because of gastric cancer at 51 and 42 postoperative months respectively. The mean follow-up time was 99.8 (11-193) months. The overall 5-year and 10-year survival rates are 86.7% and 86.7% respectively. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for intramucosal tumors are 91% and 91% respectively and for submucosal cancer are 75% and 75% (P=0.39). CONCLUSIONS: According to the prognostic value of nodal involvement and the difficulty in achieving a preoperative accurate diagnosis of depth of invasion and of nodal involvement in early gastric cancer, a radical gastric resection with D2-lymphadenectomy should be performed.     

Preoperative prognostic factors for squamous cell carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus

AIM OF THE STUDY: To identify preoperative survival prognostic factors in patients with resectable squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. POPULATION: From January 1982 to September 1999, 868 patients underwent surgery for esophageal carcinoma in our department, including 493 for squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. The following parameters were retrospectively included in univariate and multivariate analysis: age, sex, undernutrition, dysphagia, tumor diameter and nodal involvement on the CT-scan, preoperative treatment, surgical technique, curative resection, pTNM classification, histologic type and postoperative complications. The actuarial survival was determined. RESULTS: Survival prognostic factors were dysphagia, nodal involvement on CT-scan and depth of tumor invasion at pathological examination. Three groups of patients were identified on the two preoperative variables: group 1: patients without dysphagia (n=102), group 2: patients with dysphagia but without nodal involvement on the CT- scan (n=244), group 3: patients with dysphagia and with nodal involvement on the CT- scan (n=147). The median survivals were 62.4, 19.1 and 14.4 months in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively, and 5-year actuarial survivals were 50%, 21% and 11% (P<0.009). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that dysphagia and nodal involvement on the CT-scan are simple preoperative prognostic factors in patients with resectable squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.     

Hepatic resection for elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review of more than 17,000 patients

ABSTRACT

Background: With the aging population and increasing incidence of hepatic malignancies in elderly patients, establishing the safety and efficacy of hepatic resection for elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial. The present systematic review investigates postoperative morbidity, hospital mortality, median survival time, overall and disease-free survival in elderly patients with undergoing hepatic resection.

Methods: Some databases were systematically searched for prospective or retrospective studies to reveal the safety and efficacy of hepatic resection for elderly patients with primary HCC.

Results: Fifty studies involving 4,169 elderly patients and 13,158 young patients with HCC were included into analyses. Elderly group patients had similar rate of median postoperative morbidity (28.2% vs. 29.6%) but higher mortality (3.0% vs. 1.2%) with young group patients. Moreover, elderly group patients had slightly lower median survival time (55 vs. 58 months), 5-years overall survival (51% vs. 56%) and 5-years disease-free survival (27% vs. 28%) than young group patients. There was an upward trend in 5-years overall and disease-free survival in either elderly or young group.

Conclusion: Though old age may increase the risk of hospital mortality for patients with HCC after hepatic resection, elderly patients can obtain acceptable long-term prognoses from hepatic resection.     

Clinicopathological features, background liver disease, and survival analysis of HCV-positive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: differences between young and elderly patients

Background  The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody-positive elderly patients with chronic hepatitis without cirrhosis. Methods  The study included 65 patients who developed HCC at ≥75 years of age and who received their first HCC therapy at Toranomon Hospital between 1985 and 2005. Their clinicopathological and laboratory data were analyzed and compared with those of 33 patients who developed HCC at ≤50 years of age during the same period. Results  The ratio of women patients in the elderly group (M: F = 1.1: 1) was higher than in the younger group (M: F = 5.6: 1). Also, patients in the elderly group had better liver function and prothrombin activity (P = 0.001), and lower total bilirubin (P = 0.002) than the young group. Only 11 of 65 elderly patients were diagnosed with liver cirrhosis by biopsy or peritoneoscopy before or at the time of development of HCC. Based on a discriminate score using γ-globulin, hyaluronate level, platelet count, and sex, 27 (41.5%) elderly patients were considered to have chronic hepatitis, compared with six of 33 (18.1%) patients in the young group (P = 0.025). There were no differences in tumor number or size or tumor markers between the two groups. Survival rate was higher in the younger patients (P = 0.002), who were more likely to receive radical treatment. Conclusions  Our results showed distinct differences in HCV-related HCC between elderly and young patients and suggested that elderly patients (especially women) could develop HCC even when liver histology shows chronic hepatitis and lack of cirrhosis.     

Optimal treatment strategy for elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The age distribution of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) now peaks at nearly 70 years in Japan and this is continually increasing. Whether such elderly patients with HCC aged 80 years or older should be treated, and if so, how they should be selected for treatment remains uncertain. The present study was undertaken to determine any differences in the clinical characteristics and prognostic features between patients with HCC aged 80 years or older and those younger than 80 years of age. We also aimed to identify any significant variables in the prognosis of elderly patients with HCC aged 80 years or older. METHODS: Seven hundred and four patients with HCC, diagnosed during a 12-year period from January 1989 to December 2000, were categorized into two groups as follows: (i) 36 patients aged 80 years or older at the detection of HCC were defined as the elderly group and; (ii) 668 patients younger than 80 years of age were placed in the non-elderly group. Clinical variables were analyzed and compared between the two groups, and any significant variables in the prognosis were simultaneously determined. RESULTS: Regarding sex, viral markers, concentration of serum alpha-fetoprotein, diameter and number of tumors, Child's grade, presence of portal thrombosis, histology grade of HCC and any types of treatment, no significant difference was found between the two groups. The 1-year and 3-year survival rates in the elderly group (54.1 and 28.1%, respectively) were not significantly different from those in the non-elderly group (69.9 and 43.2%, respectively; P = 0.1053). The only significant factor in the prognosis in the elderly group was the presence of portal thrombosis, although a Child's grade of B or C was almost a significant factor with a P-value of 0.063. Tumor size measuring more than 3 cm in the greatest dimension, non-solitary tumor, Child's grade of B or C, and the presence of portal thrombosis were all found to be prognostic factors in the non-elderly group using a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: An advanced stage of HCC, not advanced age, influenced the survival rate in these elderly patients. Therefore, an optimal treatment strategy should be applied for elderly patients with HCC who demonstrate less prognostic factors in the same manner as that for non-elderly patients.     

Prognostic factors in patients with node-negative gastric carcinoma： A comparison with node-positive gastric carcinoma

AIM: To identify the clinicopathological characteristics of lymph node-negative gastric carcinoma, and also to evaluate outcome indicators in the lymph node-negative patients. METHODS: Of 2848 gastric carcinoma patients, 1524 (53.5%) were lymph node-negative. A statistical analysis was performed using the Cox model to estimate outcome indicators. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the recurrence rate between lymph node-negative and lymph node-positive patients (14.4% vs 41.0%, P<0.001). The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in lymph node-positive than in lymph node-negative patients (31.1% vs 77.4%, P<0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that the following factors influenced the 5-year survival rate: patient age, tumor size, depth of invasion, tumor location, operative type, and tumor stage at initial diagnosis. The Cox proportional hazard regression model revealed that tumor size, serosal invasion, and curability were independent, statistically significant, prognostic indicators of lymph node-negative gastric carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Lymph node-negative patients have a favorable outcome attributable to high curability, but the patients with relatively large tumors and serosal invasion have a poor prognosis. Curability is one of the most reliable predictors of long-term survival for lymph node-negative gastric carcinoma patients.