Pre- and intra-operative variables associated with surgical complications in elderly patients with gynecologic cancer: The clinical value of comprehensive geriatric assessment

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the associations of pre- and intra-operative variables including comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) with surgical complications in elderly patients who underwent primary surgery for gynecologic cancer.MethodsSixty consecutive patients ≥ 70 years of age who were scheduled to undergo elective surgery for the treatment of gynecologic cancer were preoperatively assessed by CGA. Every category of CGA, performance status (PS), and brief fatigue inventory (BFI) as well as surgical complexity were evaluated for 30-day surgical complications.ResultsThe overall postoperative complication rate was 30.0% (18/60) including 9 (15.0%) major and 8 (13.3%) multiple complications. Univariate analysis revealed that dependent instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) was associated with any (p = 0.023) and multiple complications (p = 0.019). Poor PS was associated with major (p = 0.021) and multiple complications (p = 0.014). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that high surgical complexity was the most independent predictor of any, major, and multiple complications, whereas poor PS was the independent predictor only for multiple complications (odds ratio 10.7, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 90.2, p = 0.043). There was no CGA component which could independently predict postoperative complications.ConclusionSurgical complexity can predict any, major, and multiple postoperative complications, while PS seems to be useful in predicting multiple complications in elderly patients with gynecologic cancer. In this small study, a CGA was not useful in predicting postoperative complications.