The incidence of cancer by age, gender and tumor type at a population-based level is infrequently investigated. The aim of the present study was to describe the burden and outcome of gastric carcinomas (excluding cancers of the esophagogastric junction) experienced by the elderly, particularly for patients aged ≥81 years. A population-based series of 322 patients exhibiting gastric cancer, diagnosed between 2003 and 2005 and from the province of Messina (insular Italy; population, 662,450) was used. The median age of patients at the time of diagnosis was 72 years. The patients were categorized into three age groups according to interquartile range values, <64, 65-80 and >81 years. The cancer-specific survival rate at five years was lowest in the very elderly (P<0.001). Patients aged ≥81 years were less likely to receive surgery than younger patients (44 vs. 55 vs. 22% for the <64, 65-80 and >81 years age groups, respectively; P<0.01). In the resected cases, very elderly patients (age, >81 years) were more likely than younger patients to exhibit advanced stage pathological tumor-node-metastasis (P<0.05). It was concluded that patients aged ≥81 years accounted for 25% of total gastric carcinomas, were less likely to receive surgery and experienced worse outcomes when compared with younger patients.
Keywords: Messina province; cancer registry study; gastric adenocarcinoma.