Is Palliative Gastrojejunostomy for Malignant Gastric Outlet Obstruction an Optimal Choice for Very Elderly Patients? A Report from a Long-Lived Country

Background Gastrojejunostomy (GJ) is a surgical option for malignant gastric outlet obstruction (mGOO). Confronting an aging society, the demand to treat elderly cancer patients with unresectable malignancies is increasing; however, the benefit of GJ to the very elderly (≥ 80 years of age) has never been investigated. Methods This multicenter, retrospective review included 108 patients who had undergone GJ for mGOO from two medical centers in Japan, one of the most long-lived countries. Patients were divided into two groups, with 80 years of age as the cut-off. Various factors, including surgical complications and patient survival, were compared. Results GJ in the very elderly (aged ≥ 80 years) was associated with a higher incidence of surgical complications ( p = 0.049), such as delayed gastric emptying (DGE; p