Background: The safety and feasibility of administering S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer has not been fully evaluated in elderly patients.
Methods: This retrospective study selected patients who underwent curative D2 surgery for gastric cancer, were diagnosed with stage II or III disease, and received adjuvant S-1 at our institution. Patients were categorized into two groups; non-elderly patients (age <70 years: group A) and elderly patients (age ≥70 years: group B). The toxicity and S-1 continuation rates in the two groups were compared.
Results: A total of 75 patients were evaluated in the study. There were no grade 4 toxicities. The incidences of grade 3 hematological and non-hematological toxicities were <5% in both groups, and the differences were not significant. The continuation rate at 6 months was 69% in group A and 70% in group B, and this difference was also not significant.
Conclusions: These results suggest that S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer is safe and feasible, regardless of the age of the patient; especially for elderly patients who could be candidates for clinical trials.