Purpose: Although a pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has been recently regarded as a safe surgical procedure at high-volume centers, the efficacy of PD for patients 80 years of age and older is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perioperative and long-term outcomes following PD in patients 80 years of age and older.
Methods: Elderly patients 80 years of age and older who underwent PD between 2001 and 2009 were identified. The perioperative and long-term outcomes were compared with patients younger than 80 years of age.
Results: Of 561 total patients, 22 patients (3.9 %) were 80 years of age or older. Mortality occurred in one patient (4.5 %). Postoperative major complications (Clavien-Dindo classification ≥ grade III) occurred in six patients (27.3 %) in this group, which was significantly higher than in patients younger than 80 years of age (P = 0.008). The survival of the elderly patients undergoing PD for pancreatic cancer was significantly shorter than that for the same patient group with other diseases (median survival, 13 versus 82 months; P = 0.014). Only one elderly patient with pancreatic cancer survived more than 3 years.
Conclusions: PD for pancreatic cancer in patients aged 80 and older should be carefully selected, because it is associated with a higher incidence of severe postoperative complications and a small change of long-term survival.