A nationwide web-based survey of oncologic surgeons to clarify the current status of preoperative assessment for elderly cancer surgery patients in Japan

Elderly cancer patients requiring surgical treatment are increasing, and the deterioration of quality of life and shortening of healthy life expectancy due to postoperative complications represent major problems. This study investigated the current status of medical treatment, including perioperative evaluations, for elderly cancer patients requiring surgical treatment at cancer treatment facilities nationwide. A total of 436 cancer care facilities around Japan were invited to participate in this web-based survey regarding management of cancer patients ≥ 65 years old who had undergone surgical treatment in 2018. A total of 919 department heads from 245 facilities agreed to participate. Although most respondents answered that performance status, preoperative examinations, and comorbidities were important when deciding on a treatment plan, age, Geriatric Assessment (GA), and guidelines were "not important" for > 10% of all respondents. GA was familiar to 195 department heads (21%), and awareness of GA was significantly lower among respondents from medical education institutions than the other types of hospitals (18.5% vs 26.3%; P = 0.006). This large survey revealed that the use of GA is not widespread, and its awareness in medical education institutions remains low. We believe that accumulating evidence of geriatric oncology surgery is an urgent issue in Japan.