Long-term impact of postoperative pneumonia after curative gastrectomy for elderly gastric cancer patients

Abstract

With the extension of life expectancy, cancer has been increasing in elderly populations. Postoperative pneumonia can negatively influence immediate mortality following gastrectomy for elderly patients, but its impact on long-term survival remains unclear. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of patients aged ≥75 years who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 2000 to 2014 to determine the long-term effects of postoperative pneumonia and to identify independent risk factors along with physical status and surgical procedure. Of 250 patients, 32 (12.8%) developed postoperative pneumonia. Patients with postoperative pneumonia had significantly worse overall survival (OS) than those without postoperative pneumonia (P