Prognostic factors for patients 85 years or older undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer

Little is known about prognostic factors for patients 85 years or older undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to identify such prognostic factors.

We retrospectively evaluated the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors of 143 patients 85 years or older undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer at a single-center between October 2005 and September 2020. Using the Kaplan–Meier method and a Cox proportional hazards regression model, we examined the relationships of patient characteristics and endoscopic curability (additional gastrectomy recommended [eCuraC-2] or not recommended) with overall survival.

The median age of the patients was 86 years, and most patients were men (65%). The eCuraC-2 rate was 14.7%. During the follow-up period, 55 patients died; however, only two patients died due to gastric cancer. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival rates were 91.5% and 74.7%, respectively. Male sex (hazard ratio, 2.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–4.30), American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status of 3 (hazard ratio, 2.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.32–4.99), body mass index < 18.9 kg/m² (hazard ratio, 2.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.11–4.40), and eCuraC-2 (hazard ratio, 3.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.37–6.75) were identified as independent prognostic factors. Moreover, patients with eCuraC-2 had significantly more poor prognostic factors than those who did not.

The decision to perform endoscopic submucosal dissection for patients with the aforementioned prognostic factors should be carefully considered because follow-up without endoscopic submucosal dissection is possible.