ASO Author Reflections: Major Abdominal Surgery in Elderly Cancer Patients

Excerpt

The prognosis of cancer patients has improved steadily over the last 2 decades due to a therapeutic armamentarium that is expanding around new therapies such as immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and new chemotherapies. However, much of this is also due to a better understanding of cancer by non-oncology medical practitioners such as surgeons, anesthesiologists, and intensivists. Significant progress has also been achieved in perioperative medicine for the care of the elderly, especially those aged ≥ 80 years. However, cancer patients aged ≥ 80 years are rarely included in therapeutic trials, as clinicians intuitively consider their prognosis to be poor. In practice, only limited literature is available regarding the postoperative prognosis of these patients.¹ …