Effect of gastric cancer on bone mineral density in elderly patients with gastric cancer

Objective To evaluate the incidence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in elderly patients with gastric cancer and to find the major factors for their severely decreased bone mineral density. Methods Bone mineral density（BMD） of femur and lumbar spine in 35 elderly patients with gastric cancer was retrospectively analyzed and compared with 35 controls. Results The BMD of femur and lumbar spine was significantly lower in patients with gastric cancer than in controls（P＜0.05）.BMD was negatively related with the course of gastric cancer and positively related with body mass index（P＜0.05）. Conclusion Attention should be paid to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis during the treatment of gastric cancer in elderly people since it can induce osteopenia.