[Impact of Preoperative Comorbidities on Long-Term Prognosis in Elderly Patients with Gastric and Colorectal Cancer].

BACKGROUND: There has been an increase in the number of elderly cancer patients with preoperative comorbidities, which decrease the safety of surgical therapy. Assessment of comorbidities is useful for prediction of the outcome of treatment in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Charlson comorbidity index(CCI)was determined in 83 elderly patients undergo- ing surgery for gastric and colorectal cancer. Relationships of CCI with prognosis were examined in pathological R0/R1 and R2 cases. RESULTS: In the R0/R1 group, CCI was significantly associated with overall survival in univariate(p=0.027)and multivariate( p=0.031)analyses. Mortality from other diseases within a year after surgery for patients with CCIB4 was significantly higher than that for those with CCIC3(11.0% vs 1.4%, p=0.028). CONCLUSION: CCI is an independent prognostic factor after surgery for elderly patients with gastric and colorectal cancer.