Oncologic outcomes after radical surgery for periampullary cancer in octogenarians

Evaluation of the validity of pancreatoduodenectomy for octogenarian patients with biliary tract carcinoma from the perspective of recurrence

OBJECTIVE

To clarify the short- and long-term validity of pancreatoduodenectomy in octogenarian patients with biliary tract carcinoma.

METHODS

We compared 23 and 141 patients aged ≥80 and <80 years, who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for biliary tract carcinoma (distal cholangiocarcinomas and ampullary carcinomas) and evaluated the relationship between age, clinicopathological factors, and surgical and oncological outcomes, especially in terms of recurrence.

RESULTS

Median overall survival time of distal cholangiocarcinoma and ampullary carcinoma was 92 and 109 months (p = 0.13). Postoperative complications, mortality, and adjuvant chemotherapy rates did not differ between the groups. Although the 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was similar, the 5-year disease-specific survival and overall survival rate were significantly shorter in octogenarians (≥80 years: 43.5, 47.1, and 35.3%; <80 years: 54.1, 69.2, and 63.0%; p = 0.41, 0.016, and 0.034, respectively). The median time from recurrence to death for octogenarian patients was significantly shorter than that of younger patients (3.3 vs. 16.1 months, p < 0.001). At recurrence, the serum albumin level, prognostic nutritional index, controlling nutritional status score, and treatment rate for recurrence were lower in octogenarians. The multivariate analysis identified age ≥80 years (hazard ratio: 3.8), low prognostic nutritional index (hazard ratio: 2.9), high serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (hazard ratio: 2.6), and failure to implement treatment after recurrence (hazard ratio: 3.0) as independent risk factors for a short time from recurrence to death. Furthermore, age ≥80 years (odds ratio 0.09) was an independent risk factor for treatment implementation after recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Octogenarians had a shorter survival time after recurrence, resulting from low nutritional indices and a reduced rate of treatment implementation at the time of recurrence.

Can we recommend surgical treatment to the octogenarian with periampullary cancer?: National database analysis in South Korea

BACKGROUND

The incidence of periampullary cancer in the elderly is increasing. Safety and oncologic effectiveness of pancreaticoduodenectomy in elderly patients is still controversial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From 2002 to 2016, patients with periampullary cancer were evaluated. Customised health information data provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIS-2018-1-157) were used for analysis. Chronological changes in the incidence of periampullary cancer and long-term survival outcomes were estimated according to patients' age.

RESULT

A total of 148,080 patients were found to have periampullary cancer. Chronologically, the incidence of periampullary cancer increased, and the proportion of elderly patients with periampullary cancer prominently increased (about 2.1 times in patients in their 70s and about 4.7 times in those older than 80 years). The number of patients with pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy in their 70s (about 5.6 times, p < 0.001) and over 80 years of age (about 8.9 times, p < 0.001) was much higher than the number of patients aged younger than 50 years (about 1.7 times) and in their 60s (about 2.5 times). Long-term survival was different as per diagnosis (p < 0.001). In addition, it was observed that age was a factor attenuating the survival of patients with resected periampullary cancers (p < 0.001). However, in case of patients older than 80 years, those who underwent surgical treatment showed a higher survival rate than those who did not undergo surgical treatment.

CONCLUSION

We can recommend surgical treatment for elderly patients with resectable periampullary cancer. The survival data in this study can be useful references especially in making treatment plan for octogenarians diagnosed with periampullary cancer.