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Introduction. Gastric cancer remains among the top three digestive diseases with the highest mortality rates in the world. Treatment of gastric cancer is multidisciplinary, gastric resection being essential for the best result. Anemia is one of the most common comorbidities present in patients diagnosed with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective analytical study over a period of 6 years (2014-2019). It is based on 114 consecutive gastric resections for cancer performed by a single team using exclusively resection and reconstruction stapling methods. The study aims to investigate a correlation between the presence of preoperative anemia and the incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Results. Preoperative anemia was found in 70% of patients, with about half of these patients presenting with mild anemia. Most postoperative complications were grade I and II according to the Clavien Dindo scale. Anemia was correlated with an increase in infectious complications, anastomotic leaks and secondary peritoneal abscesses, pancreatic complications after multivisceral resection and length of hospital stay. Conclusions. Preoperative anemia is a risk factor that exposes the cancer patient to an increased incidence of life-threatening postoperative complications. In addition, it also extends the length of hospital stay and costs. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the identification and reduction of anemia before extensive gastric surgery in order to obtain the best possible therapeutic result.

Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. The treatment for gastric cancer is multimodal, in which gastrectomy remains the only curative approach. However, gastric resection is often associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates, depending on several factors. These factors can be attributed to the patient as comorbidities or effects of the disease upon him and, on the other hand, there are risk factors independent of the patient, such as aspects of the tumor (type, staging, location), experience of the surgical and anesthetic team, logistics of the hospital, yield of adjuvant therapies etc. We recognize the fact that patient-related risk factors are often overlooked and not taken into consideration prior to surgery, thus becoming a source of morbidity and mortality. These factors are more susceptible to modulating in order to better select candidates for gastric resection and thus create a better outcome. Therefore, identifying and modulating patient-related risk factors is paramount in order to decrease the incidence of morbidity and mortality following gastric resections.