Published online Oct 27, 2015. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v7.i10.223
Peer-review started: February 22, 2015
First decision: April 27, 2015
Revised: May 19, 2015
Accepted: August 30, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: October 27, 2015
Processing time: 255 Days and 13.4 Hours
In gastric cancer patients chronological and biological age might vary greatly between patients. Age as well as American Society of Anaesthesiologists-physical status classifications are very non-specific and do not adequately predict adverse outcome. Improvements have been made such as the introduction of Charlson Comorbidity Index. Geriatric frailty is probably a better measure for patients resistance to stressors and physiological reserves. An increasing amount of evidence shows that geriatric frailty is a better predictor for adverse outcome after surgery, including gastric cancer surgery. Geriatric frailty can be assessed in a number of ways. Questionnaires such as the Groningen Frailty Indicator provide an ease and low cost method for gauging the presence of frailty in gastric cancer patients. This can then be used to provide a better preoperative risk assessment in these patients and improve decision making.
Core tip: Geriatric frailty assessment is an important way forward in order to provide a better preoperative risk assessment in gastric cancer surgical patients.