Clinical Features and Prognostic Factors of Elderly Patients with Gallbladder Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Abstract Background: Elderly patients with gallbladder cancer (GBC) may be a special group of individuals. The present study aimed to explore the clinical features and prognostic factors of elderly patients with GBC and establish nomogram to predict their overall survival (OS). Methods: Patients diagnosed with GBC from 2010 to 2015 were identified from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in elderly GBC patients were examined. Results: Elderly patients and young patients with GBC differed in many aspects, including race, marital status, AJCC stage, T stage, N stage, M stage, surgery, lymph node dissection, radiation, chemotherapy, and OS (P<0.05). Analysis of prognostic factors showed that chemotherapy and surgery with lymph node dissection (radical surgery), as the main treatment for elderly patients, can significantly improve prognosis. Other factors, including being unmarried, higher grade of histological type and AJCC stage, had a negative effect on OS. Nomogram was developed based on the above prognostic factors. The C-indexes of 1-year survival and 3-year survival nomogram were 0.73 and 0.736 and AUCs at 1 and 3 years were 0.789 and 0.780, respectively. Conclusions: Elderly patients with GBC comprise a distinct group of individuals whose clinical characteristics differ from those of young patients, and the nomogram constructed accurately predicted OS in elderly patients with GBC.