Discontinuation of Neoadjuvant Therapy Does Not Influence Postoperative Short-Term Outcomes in Elderly Patients (≥ 70 Years) with Resectable Gastric Cancer: a Population-Based Study from the Dutch Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit (DUCA) Data

For the elderly patients with gastric cancer, it may be more challenging to tolerate complete neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). The impact of discontinued NAT on the surgical safety and pathological outcomes of elderly patients with poor tolerance remains poorly understood. Gastric cancer patients received gastrectomy with curative intent from the Dutch upper GI cancer audit (DUCA) database were included in this study. The independent association of age with not initiating and discontinuation of NAT was assessed with restricted cubic splines (RCS). According to the RCS results, age ≥ 70 years was defined as elderly. Short-term postoperative outcomes and pathological results were compared between elderly patients who completed and discontinued NAT. Between 2011- 2021, total of 3049 patients were included. The risk of not initiating NAT increased from 70 years. In 1954 (64