Surgical resection of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in octogenarians

•The majority of octogenarians diagnosed with stage I-III gastric GIST undergo surgical resection.•Octogenarians who undergo surgical resection for gastric GIST have improved adjusted overall survival.•Octogenarians who did not undergo surgical resection had insignificantly higher 90-day mortality after diagnosis.•Half of octogenarian patients who were noted to have 90-day mortality expired within the first 30 days after diagnosis.•Careful selection of octogenarian patients with gastric GIST who would benefit from surgical resection is warranted.