Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: A significant predictive factor for the occurrence of complications after gastrectomy in elderly gastric cancer patients is yet to be determined. We aimed to evaluate the clinical factors associated with overall complications including remote infection after gastrectomy in elderly gastric cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data of 101 patients aged over 80 years, who underwent curative gastrectomy. We analyzed the clinicopathological factors that were independently associated with the occurrence of overall complications or remote infection by a logistic regression model. RESULTS: The overall complication rate was 24.8%. We identified pneumonia as a remote infection, and the occurrence rate of remote infections was 5.9%. On multivariate analysis, hemoglobin (<11 g/dl) and operation time (>240 min) were significantly correlated with the occurrence of overall complications. Regarding the occurrence of remote infection, performing total gastrectomy and a hemoglobin level <11 g/dl were identified as significant risk factors. CONCLUSION: Preoperative anemia and intraoperative factors, including the surgical procedure, could affect the occurrence of postoperative complications in elderly patients.