Safety and feasibility of S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer in elderly patients

The safety and feasibility of administering S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer has not been fully evaluated in elderly patients.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 (age70 years: group A) and elderly patients (age ≥70 years: group B). The toxicity and S-1 continuation rates in the two groups were compared.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 were5% 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.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.