Prognostic impact of frailty after gastrectomy in elderly gastric cancer patients

Background : Frailty plays a crucial role in cancer patients who have received surgery in this recent aging society. We aimed to investigate frailty as a prognostic factor in elderly gastric cancer (GC) patients who underwent curative gastrectomy. Methods : We analyzed 86 elderly (over 75 years old) GC patients who underwent curative gastrectomy. Patients were assigned to two groups; frailty group (n = 29) and no-frailty group (n = 57). Clinicopathological values were compared between the two groups. Results : The OS rate of the frailty group was significantly poorer than that of the no-frailty group (5-yr OS rate; frailty group 52.49% vs. no-frailty group 74.87%, p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis of the OS showed that frailty tended to be significant prognostic factor (p = 0.09). The DFS rate of the frailty group was significantly poorer than that of the no-frailty group (5-yr DFS rate; frailty group 42.30% vs. no-frailty group 71.55%, p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis of the DFS showed that frailty tended to be significant prognostic factor (p = 0.14). Conclusion : We identified the clinical impact of frailty prognostic factor for elderly GC patients who underwent gastrectomy.