Endoscopic therapy for gastric cancer in patients more than 80 years old.

We prospectively studied 17 gastric cancer patients who were more than 80 yr old, in whom endoscopic therapy was performed. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group included 13 patients in whom curative treatment was attempted, and in 11 (85%) a curative response was achieved. Two patients in this group showed a positive gastric biopsy after 1 and 2 yr, respectively, of therapy: one patient is under current treatment with laser therapy, and the other patient underwent surgery with resection of the stomach. The second group included four patients in whom treatment was aimed at prolonging survival or palliation, and in all four patients, a successful response was obtained. Therefore, our results demonstrate that endoscopic therapy is effective for the treatment of gastric cancer patients over 80 yr old.