Detailed Clinical Characteristics, Interventions, and Long-Term Outcomes of Patients With Gastric Cancer Who Received the Best Supportive Care Without Any Anticancer Treatment

Abstract

Background: Due to the lack of studies, the long-term prognoses of unfit patients with gastric cancer (GC) who did not receive any aggressive cancer treatment (best supportive care [BSC] cases) remain unclear, especially for those with potentially curable GC. We conducted this observational study to capture the real-world data of characteristics and outcomes for BSC cases. Method: Consecutive clinical records of patients with GC diagnosed at Steel Memorial Muroran Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were analyzed. Result: Of 481 patients diagnosed with GC, 91 (18.9%) were BSC cases. The median overall survival (OS) was 12.4, 8.3, and 2.5 months for clinical stage (cStage) I, II?III, and IV, respectively. Patients with potentially curable GC (cStage I?III) had significantly longer OS than those with incurable disease (cStage IV), with a hazard ratio for death of 0.29 (95% confidence interval: 0.18?0.47). Conclusion: Our report provides useful information for decision-making for unfit patients with GC in daily clinical practice.

Keywords

• aged
• gastric cancer
• health services for the aged
• palliative care
• supportive care