Investigation of the recurrence patterns of gastric cancer following a curative resection. Surg Today. 2011;41:210-215. [PMID: 21264756 DOI: 10.1007/s00595-009-4251-y]

The patterns and timing of recurrence after curative resection for gastric cancer in China

Background

The recurrence of gastric cancer after curative resection had adverse effects on patients’ survival. The treatment presence varied from different countries. The aims of this study were to understand the recurrence incidence, patterns, and timing and to explore the risk factors in China.

Methods

One thousand three hundred four patients who undergoing curative resection from more than 100 hospitals between January 1st 1986 and September 1st 2013, were surveyed in detail. Clinical pathological factors were examined as potential risk factors of each recurrence pattern using univariate and multivariate analyses. Recurrence timing was also analyzed based on disease-free survival.

Results

Among 1304 gastric cancer patients, 793 patients (60.8%) experienced recurrence and 554 patients (42.5%) experienced recurrence within 2 years after operation. The median disease-free survival was 29.00 months (interquartile range [IQR] 12.07, 147.23). Receiving operation in general hospitals was one of independent risk factors of local-regional recurrence (OR = 1.724, 95% CI 1.312 to 2.265) and distant metastasis (OR = 1.496, 95% CI 1.164 to 1.940). Patients would suffer lower risk of distant metastasis if they received no more than 3 cycles adjuvant chemotherapy (OR = 0.640, 95% CI 0.433 to 0.943). Adjuvant radiotherapy could reduce the risk of recurrence (OR 0.259, 95% CI 0.100 to 0.670), especially distant metastasis (OR = 0.260, 95% CI 0.083 to 0.816).

Conclusions

More than 60% patients experienced recurrence after curative resection for gastric cancer, especially within 2 years after surgery. Risk factors were clarified between various recurrence patterns. Advanced gastric cancer and undergoing operation in general hospitals contributed to increased recurrence risk and worse survival. Enough number of lymph nodes harvest and standard D2 lymphadenectomy could reduce recurrence. Chinese patients would benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Clinical outcomes of recurrent gastric cancer detected by upper endoscopy after curative total gastrectomy

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Endoscopically detected tumor recurrence after curative total gastrectomy is very rare. We reviewed the clinicopathological and endoscopic findings together with the clinical outcomes of these patients.

METHODS

Seventeen patients with recurrent gastric cancer detected by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy who underwent curative total gastrectomy between January 1990 and May 2011 at the Asan Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Of the 17 patients, 5 were resectable at the time of diagnosis of recurrence and 12 were unresectable. The median interval between total gastrectomy and diagnosis of recurrence was 20.2 months (interquartile range 12.4-42.1 months). The tumors were located in the anastomotic area in 8 patients, in the proximal part of the afferent or efferent loop in 7, and in the stump of the afferent loop in 2 patients. With regard to the endoscopic findings, a mass was found in 8 cases, an ulcer in 2, stricture in 4, and nodularities in 3. Operations were performed in 3 patients, chemotherapy in 10 (including 2 receiving adjuvant chemotherapy), and conservative management in 6. Fourteen patients died from progression of the disease and the median survival period from recurrence for all 17 patients was 5.3 months (interquartile range 1.2-7.7 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Local recurrence of gastric cancer detected by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy after curative total gastrectomy has a poor prognosis.

Regional but fatal: Intraperitoneal metastasis in gastric cancer

Peritoneal carcinomatosis appears to be the most common pattern of metastasis or recurrence and is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Many efforts have been made to improve the survival in patients with peritoneal metastasis. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy remains a widely accepted strategy in the treatment of peritoneal dissemination. Several phase II-III studies confirmed that the combined cytoreducitve surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy resulted in longer survival in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. In addition, proper selection and effective regional treatment in patients with high risk of peritoneal recurrence after resection will further improve prognosis in local advanced gastric cancer patients.

Early gastric cancer metastasizing to the rectum, possibly via a hematogenous route: a case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND

The most common pattern of recurrence of gastric cancer (GC) is peritoneal dissemination. However, rectal metastasis via hematogenous or lymphatic spread is exceedingly rare. We present a case of a 65-year-old man with an intramucosal GC who developed a rectal recurrence, possibly via a hematogenous route.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 65-year-old man underwent curative endoscopic submucosal dissections for the intramucosal GCs at the anterior wall of the fornix twice. The third GC at the similar location was treated by radical laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy; microscopic examination revealed well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma confined to the lamina propria mucosae (T1aN0M0, stage IA). Follow-up colonoscopy revealed a 30-mm submucosal mass in the rectal wall 2 years later, and a metastasis of gastric origin was suspected histopathologically. After a staging laparoscopy confirmed the absence of findings suggestive of serosal involvement or peritoneal dissemination, including negative peritoneal washing cytology, a laparoscopic low anterior resection with lymph node dissection was performed. Microscopically, the tumor was found to mainly be located in the submucosal layer and showed features of moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The serosal surface was free of disseminated tumor. Lymph node metastases were identified. Immunohistochemically, there were foci of carcinoma cells that were positive for cytokeratin 20; however, they were negative for cytokeratin 7. Negative staining for caudal-type homeobox 2, a transcription factor indicating goblet cell differentiation, combined with absence of intramucosal carcinoma in the rectal mucosa, suggested a diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma of gastric origin. The absence of evidence of peritoneal dissemination suggested hematogenous or lymphatic spread.

CONCLUSION

Although rectal metastasis from GC, particularly when attributable to hematologic or lymphatic metastasis, is very rare, metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis for patients who present with a rectal tumor and a past history of GC, even if it is an early GC.

Current adjuvant treatment modalities for gastric cancer: From history to the future

The discrepancy between the surgical technique and the type of adjuvant chemotherapy used in clinical trials and patient outcomes in terms of overall survival rates has led to the generation of different adjuvant treatment protocols in distinct parts of the world. The adjuvant treatment recommendation is generally chemoradiotherapy in the United States, perioperative chemotherapy in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, and chemotherapy in Asia. These options mainly rely on the United States Intergroup-0116, United Kingdom British Medical Research Council Adjuvant Gastric Infusional Chemotherapy, and the Asian Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer and Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin Adjuvant Study in Stomach Cancer trials. However, the benefits were evident for only certain patients, which were not very homogeneous regarding the type of surgery, chemotherapy regimens, and stage of disease. Whether the dissimilarities in survival are attributable to surgical technique or intrinsic biological differences is a subject of debate. Regardless of the extent of surgery, multimodal therapy may offer modest survival advantage at least for diseases with lymph node involvement. Moreover, in the era of individualized treatment for most of the other cancer types, identification of special subgroups comprising those who will derive more or no benefit from adjuvant therapy merits further investigation. The aim of this review is to reveal the historical evolution and future reflections of adjuvant treatment modalities for resected gastric cancer patients.

A case report of gastric cancer with brain metastasis: Rare peripheral nervous system symptoms

Gastric cancer with brain metastasis is rare. The present study reports a case of gastric cancer with isolated brain metastasis 1 year after gastrectomy. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior reports of solitary brain metastasis from gastric cancer with peripheral nervous system symptoms. A distal gastrectomy was performed on a 60-year-old male patient with gastric cancer in November 2012. Postoperative pathological analysis revealed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with tumor invasion into the serosa and metastasis to one dissected lymph node. No abnormalities were found at follow-up examination. However, a tumor representing metastasis to the brain was recognized by a cranial enhanced magnetic resonance imaging examination 1 year after gastrectomy, which was performed when the patient exhibited numbness and thigmesthesia. The patient was administered 30 Gy of stereotactic radiotherapy, delivered in 5 fractions. The patient succumbed to disease 10 months subsequent to undergoing radiotherapy. This case report suggests that gastric cancer may re-present as brain metastasis with peripheral nervous system symptoms.

Impact of super-extended lymphadenectomy on relapse in advanced gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

In gastric cancer the incidence of loco-regional recurrences decreases when lymphadenectomy is expanded from D1 to D2. The present study aimed at evaluating whether the pattern of recurrence in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) is further modified when lymphadenectomy is expanded from D2 to D3.

METHODS

568 patients undergoing curative gastrectomy for AGC (274 D2 and 294 D3) were considered; none of them received preoperative chemotherapy. MantelHaenszel test of homogeneity was used to verify whether the relation between extension of lymphadenectomy and recurrence varied as a function of each risk factor considered. The impact of D2 and D3 on relapse was further investigated by multivariable logistic regression model.

RESULTS

Cumulative incidence of recurrence did not significantly differ after D2 and after D3 in the whole series (45.3% vs 46.3%; p = 0.866). However, the association between recurrence and extension of lymphadenectomy was significantly affected by histology (Mantel-Haenszel test of homogeneity: p = 0.007). The risk of recurrence was higher after D3 than after D2 (45.1% vs 35.3%) in the intestinal histotype while the pattern was reversed in the mixed/diffuse histotype (48.3% vs 61.5%). This pattern was confirmed in multivariable logistic regression: the interaction between histology and extension of lymphadenectomy was highly significant (p = 0.004). In particular, cumulative incidence of locoregional recurrences was higher in the diffuse histotype after D2, while being higher in the intestinal histotype after D3.

CONCLUSIONS

D3 reverses the negative impact of diffuse histotype on relapses, especially on locoregional recurrences. Therefore D3 could be considered a valid therapeutic option in histotype-oriented tailored treatment of AGC.

A nomogram to predict overall survival and disease-free survival after curative resection of gastric adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

The American Cancer Society projects there will be over 22,000 new cases, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths, related to gastric adenocarcinoma in the US in 2014. The aim of the current study was to find clinicopathologic variables associated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) following curative resection of gastric adenocarcinoma, and create a nomogram for individual risk prediction.

METHODS

A nomogram to predict DFS and OS following surgical resection of gastric adenocarcinoma was constructed using a multi-institutional cohort of patients who underwent surgery for primary gastric adenocarcinoma at seven major institutions in the US between January 2000 and August 2013. Discrimination and calibration of the nomogram were tested by C-statistic, Kaplan-Meier curves, and calibration plots.

RESULTS

A total of 719 patients who underwent surgery for primary gastric adenocarcinoma were included in the study. Using the backward selection of clinically relevant variables with Akaike information criteria, age, sex, tumor site, depth of invasion, and lymph node ratio (LNR) were selected as factors predictive of OS, while age, tumor site, depth of invasion, and LNR were incorporated in the prediction of DFS. A nomogram was constructed to predict OS and DFS using these variables. Discrimination and calibration of the nomogram revealed good predictive abilities (C-index, DFS 0.711; OS 0.702).

CONCLUSION

Independent predictors of recurrence and death following surgery for primary gastric adenocarcinoma were used to create a nomogram to predict DFS and OS. The nomogram was able to stratify patients into prognostic groups, and performed well on internal validation.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma: a multi-institutional US study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Potential differences in presentation and outcome of patients with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) and non-cardia adenocarcinoma may exist. The aim of the present study was to compare the clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of GCA versus non-cardia adenocarcinoma.

METHOD

Patients with gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent gastric resection between 2000-2012 were identified. Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes were analyzed based on tumor site using a 1:2 matched-control, as well as a multivariable Cox model.

RESULTS

Among 743 patients, 80 (10.7%) patients were diagnosed with GCA. Patients with GCA were more likely to have intestinal tumor type (GCA: 80.4% versus non-cardia: 64.2%, P = 0.04) or advanced AJCC T stage tumors (GCA 71.8% versus non-cardia 59.2%, P = 0.03). GCA patients more likely underwent a total gastrectomy (GCA: 85.7% vs. non-cardia: 39.8%) and had a longer length-of-stay (GCA: 10 days vs. non-cardia: 8 days) (both P < 0.05). Outcomes in early stage I patients were worse among GCA (disease-free survival, 44.2%; overall survival, 42.3%) versus non-GCA (disease-free survival, 60.8%; overall survival, 63.0%) patients(both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In general, disease-free survival and overall survival were similar between patients with GCA versus non-cardia adenocarcinoma. However, long-term outcome was worse among patients with GCA and early stage disease.

Conditional survival after surgical resection of gastric cancer: a multi-institutional analysis of the us gastric cancer collaborative

BACKGROUND

Survival estimates following surgical resection of gastric adenocarcinoma are traditionally reported as survival from the date of surgery. Conditional survival (CS) estimates, however, may be more clinically relevant by accounting for time already survived. We assessed CS following surgical resection for gastric adenocarcinoma.

METHODS

We analyzed 807 patients who underwent resection for gastric adenocarcinoma from 2000 to 2012 at seven participating institutions in the U.S. Gastric Cancer Collaborative. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate factors associated with overall survival. Three-year CS estimates at "x" year after surgery were calculated as follows: CS3 = S(x+3)/S(x).

RESULTS

Overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates after gastric resection were 42, 34, and 30 %, respectively. Using CS estimates, the probability of surviving an additional 3 years given that the patient had survived at 1, 3, and 5 years were 56, 71, and 82 %, respectively. Patients with higher risk at baseline (i.e., stage III or IV disease, lymphovascular invasion) demonstrated the greatest increase in CS over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Survival estimates following surgical resection of gastric adenocarcinoma is dynamic; the probability of survival increases with time already survived. Patients with worse prognostic features at the time of surgery had the greatest increases in CS over time. Conditional survival estimates provide important information about the changing probability of survival over time and should be used among patients with resected gastric adenocarcinoma to guide subsequent follow-up strategies.

Prognostic value of the distance of proximal resection margin in patients who have undergone curative gastric cancer surgery

Background

We conducted this retrospective study to analyze the relationship between the distance of the proximal resection margin (PRM) and the pattern of recurrence in patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy.

Methods

In our series, there were 774 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma. Thus, we classified our clinical series of patients into the distal gastrectomy group (n = 529) and the total gastrectomy group (n = 245). The clinical pathologic data and PRM distance were collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate association between PRM distance and locoregional recurrence.

Results

The mean distance of the PRM was 4.03 cm in the total gastrectomy group. The distance of the PRM had a significant correlation with advanced T-stage, advanced N-stage,vascular invasion,lymphatic invasion, neural invasion, histological undifferentiation, greater tumor size, and the upper third of the tumor location. On multivariate analysis, tumor recurrence showed only the independent prognostic factor N-stage (P <0.023). The mean distance of the PRM was 6.4 cm in the distal gastrectomy group. The distance of the PRM had a significant correlation with the advanced T-stage, advanced N-stage, younger age, vascular invasion, histological undifferentiation, greater tumor size, and the middle third of tumor location. On multivariate analysis, tumor recurrence showed three independent prognostic factors, N-stage (P <0.001), vascular invasion (P = 0.009), and lower third tumor location (P = 0.035). The total gastrectomy of locoregional recurrence was related to N-stage (P = 0.039), and the distal gastrectomy of locoregional recurrence was related to T-stage (P = 0.021). Study on the disease-free survival, PRM distance, and locoregional recurrence was not statistically relevant in both the total and distal gastrectomy group (P = 0.565 and P = 0.584, respectively).

Conclusions

Our results indicate that a sufficient resection margin is not the absolute factor associated with the rate of survival and recurrence, although it is a key prognostic factor. The locoregional recurrence had no significant correlation with the distance of the PRM after curative gastrectomy.

Rates and patterns of recurrence after curative intent resection for gastric cancer: a United States multi-institutional analysis

BACKGROUND

Reports on recurrence and outcomes of US patients with gastric cancer are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine incidence and pattern of recurrence after curative intent surgery for gastric cancer.

STUDY DESIGN

Using the multi-institutional US Gastric Cancer Collaborative database, we identified 817 patients undergoing curative intent resection for gastric cancer between 2000 and 2012. Patterns and rates of recurrence along with associated risk factors were identified using adjusted regression analysis. Recurrences were classified as locoregional, peritoneal, or hematogenous.

RESULTS

Median patient age was 65.8 years (interquartile range [IQR] 56.4, 74.7); the majority of patients were male (n = 462, 56.6%) and white (n = 511, 62.5%). At the time of surgery, the majority of patients underwent a partial gastrectomy (n = 481, 59.2%) with a complete R0 resection achieved in 91.6% (n = 748) of patients. At the time of last follow-up, 244 (29.9%) of 817 patients developed a recurrence; 163 (66.8%) patients had recurrence at only a single site; the remaining 81 (33.2%) had multiple sites of initial recurrence. Among patients who recurred at a single site, recurrence was most common at a distant location and included hematogenous (n = 57, 23.4%) or peritoneal (n = 47, 19.3%) only metastasis. Tumors at the gastroesophageal junction (odds ratio [OR] 3.18, 95% CI 1.08 to 9.40; p = 0.04) were associated with higher risk of locoregional recurrence, while the presence of multiple lesions (OR 10.82, 95% CI 3.56 to 32.85; p < 0.001) remained associated with an increased risk of distant hematogenous recurrence after adjusted analysis. Recurrence was associated with worse survival, with a median recurrence-free survival of 10.8 months (IQR 8.9, 12.8) among those who experienced a recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly one-third of patients experienced recurrence after gastric cancer surgery. The most common site of recurrence was distant.

Impact of external-beam radiation therapy on outcomes among patients with resected gastric cancer: a multi-institutional analysis

BACKGROUND

Use of perioperative chemotherapy (CTx) alone versus chemoradiation therapy (cXRT) in the treatment of resectable gastric cancer remains varied. We sought to define the utilization and effect of CTx alone versus cXRT on patients having undergone curative-intent resection for gastric cancer.

METHODS

Using the multi-institutional US Gastric Cancer Collaborative database, we identified 505 gastric cancer patients between 2000 and 2012 who received perioperative therapy in addition to curative-intent resection. The impact of perioperative therapy on survival was analyzed by the use of propensity-score matching of clinicopathologic factors among patients who received CTx alone versus cXRT.

RESULTS

Median patient age was 62 years, and most patients were male (58.2 %). Most patients had a T3 (38.7 %) or T4 (36.8 %) lesion and lymph node metastasis (73.4 %). A total of 211 (42.8 %) patients received perioperative CTx alone, whereas the remaining 294 (58.2 %) patients received cXRT. Factors associated with receipt of cXRT were younger age (odds ratio, 1.93) and lymph node metastasis (odds ratio, 4.02; both P < 0.05). At a median follow-up of 28 months, the median overall survival (OS) was 33.4 months, and the 5-year OS was 36.7 %. Factors associated with worse overall survival included large tumor size [hazard ratio (HR), 1.83], T3 (HR 2.96) or T4 (HR 4.02) tumors, and lymph node metastasis (HR 1.57; all P < 0.05). In contrast, receipt of cXRT was associated with improved long-term OS (CTx alone, 20.9 months; cXRT, 46.7 months; HR 0.51; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

cXRT was utilized in 58 % of patients undergoing curative-intent resection for gastric cancer. With propensity score-matched analysis, cXRT was an independent factor associated with improved recurrence-free survival and OS.

Clinical significance of lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer, one of the most common malignancies in the world, frequently reveals lymph node, peritoneum, and liver metastases. Most of gastric cancer patients present with lymph node metastasis when they were initially diagnosed or underwent surgical resection, which results in poor prognosis. Both the depth of tumor invasion and lymph node involvement are considered as the most important prognostic predictors of gastric cancer. Although extended lymphadenectomy was not considered a survival benefit procedure and was reported to be associated with high mortality and morbidity in two randomized controlled European trials, it showed significant superiority in terms of lower locoregional recurrence and disease related deaths compared to limited lymphadenectomy in a 15-year follow-up study. Almost all clinical investigators have reached a consensus that the predictive efficiency of the number of metastatic lymph nodes is far better than the extent of lymph node metastasis for the prognosis of gastric cancer worldwide, but other nodal metastatic classifications of gastric cancer have been proposed as alternatives to the number of metastatic lymph nodes for improving the predictive efficiency for patient prognosis. It is still controversial over whether the ratio between metastatic and examined lymph nodes is superior to the number of metastatic lymph nodes in prognostic evaluation of gastric cancer. Besides, the negative lymph node count has been increasingly recognized to be an important factor significantly associated with prognosis of gastric cancer.

Treatment strategies for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis

Although the treatment of gastric cancer improves the clinical outcomes, the survival of gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis is still very poor. Effective drugs against peritoneal metastasis, coupled with new therapeutic modalities, are needed to improve the prognoses of these patients. Paclitaxel and TS-1 are candidate drugs for peritoneal metastasis, and intraperitoneal chemotherapy and targeted therapy are potential new therapeutic modalities. Two phase II studies using TS-1 and intraperitoneal and systemic paclitaxel for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis showed respectable survival results. In addition, peritoneal metastatic lesions showed high levels of epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (ECAM) and very low levels of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), thus indicating that an anti-ECAM monoclonal antibody, catumaxomab, would be effective against gastric cancer-derived peritoneal metastasis. Although catumaxomab and intraperitoneally administered paclitaxel are not generally used in Japan at present, these treatment strategies might therefore be effectively used in Japan in the near future.

Case report of very late gastric cancer recurrence

Very late recurrence of gastric cancer is rare. Here, we report a dramatic recurrence of gastric cancer, with isolated skeletal metastasis and bone marrow carcinomatosis, 22 years after the patient's initial presentation. Gastric cancer recurrence involving bone or bone marrow is also uncommon and associated with poor prognosis. Pathology from a bone marrow biopsy showed signet ring cell morphology. The patient in this case demonstrated a surprising response-lasting 11 months-to palliative chemotherapy with cisplatin and capecitabine. This case report and literature review describes the characteristics of late gastric cancer recurrence and an approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with bone metastasis or bone marrow carcinomatosis.

The pattern and risk factors of recurrence of proximal gastric cancer after curative resection

PURPOSE

To explore the time and pattern of recurrence of proximal gastric cancer and estimate the risk factors and prognostic factors for it. Considering these risk factors, postoperative adjuvant therapies and follow-up program can be individualized.

METHODS

The data of 135 recurrence proximal gastric cancer patients were extracted and analyzed.

RESULTS

In 135 recurrence patients, the median time to recurrence was 14.0 months, 116 (85.9%) patients had recurrences within 2 years. Loco-regional recurrence was the most prevalent pattern. Hematogenous metastasis was next prevalent pattern in which the liver was the most common organ. Peritoneal recurrence occurred in 32 patients. Five patients recurred in distant lymph nodes. The deeper invasion was associated with higher incidence of hematogenous metastases and peritoneal recurrence. The histological type, depth of invasion, and lymph node metastasis were independent risk factors for overall recurrence. While, negative lymph nodes counts were another independent risk factors for early recurrence. Patients with systemic recurrence and early recurrence patients had poorer prognosis.

CONCLUSION

Total gastrectomy and adequate lymph nodes dissection were rational choice of proximal gastric cancer with deeper invasion. Pathologic predictors of invasion, histological type, lymph nodes metastasis and negative lymph node counts could guide individualized, risk-oriented adjuvant treatment, and follow-up plan.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and outcomes of surgery of middle-third gastric cancer

Many issues of middle-third gastric cancer need to be address for obtaining preferably clinical treatment. The objective of this retrospective study was to analyze clinicopathologic characteristics and results of surgery for 113 middle-third gastric cancer patients admitted to our hospital. Retrospective cohort analyses of clinicopathologic data and postoperative prognosis of 113 middle-third gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection between January 1997 and December 2003 were reviewed. Compared with lower-third gastric cancer patients, middle-third gastric cancer patients had significantly lower 5-year survival rate (P < 0.001) and higher recurrence rate (P < 0.001). With the Cox proportional hazards model analysis, the types of gastrectomy (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.495, P = 0.012) and ratio between metastatic and dissected lymph nodes (RML) (HR = 1.681, P < 0.001) were identified as the independent predictors of overall survival (OS) of middle-third gastric cancer patients. Besides, only RML (HR = 3.026, P < 0.001) was an independent predictor of recurrence for middle-third gastric cancer patients after surgery identified using the logistic regression analysis. The prognosis of middle-third gastric cancer was significantly worse than lower-third gastric cancer. RML was a key indicator for OS and recurrence of middle-third gastric cancer.

Correlation of βig-h3 expression in peritoneal mesothelial cells with pathological parameters and peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer

AIM: To determine the expression of βig-h3 in peritoneal mesothelial cells in gastric cancer and to explore its relation to pathological parameters and peritoneal metastasis.

METHODS: Peritoneal tissue and peritoneal washing fluid samples were collected during operation from 75 patients with gastric cancer and 14 patients with benign gastric lesions. The expression of βig-h3 in peritoneal mesothelial cells was measured immunohistochemically. The mRNA levels of CEA in ascites and peritoneal washing fluid were measured by RT-PCR. Peritoneal lavage cytological (PLC) examination and pathological examination were also performed.

RESULTS: βig-h3 was positively expressed in the peritoneal tissue in 29 patients with gastric cancer and 1 with benign gastric lesions, and the positive rate was significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.030). In the gastric cancer group, 13 patients had evident peritoneal metastasis, 20 were positive for PLC, and 32 were positive for CEA mRNA. The positive rate of βig-h3 expression was significantly positively correlated with deep invasion (P = 0.016), serious serous type (P = 0.037), peritoneal metastasis (P = 0.002), PLC (+) (P = 0.005), and CEA mRNA (+) (P = 0.027).

CONCLUSION: βig-h3 expression in peritoneal mesothelial cells in gastric cancer patients is closely related with peritoneal metastasis, representing a marker of biological behavior of gastric cancer.

Adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin for gastric cancer after D2 gastrectomy (CLASSIC): a phase 3 open-label, randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

D2 gastrectomy is recommended in US and European guidelines, and is preferred in east Asia, for patients with resectable gastric cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy improves patient outcomes after surgery, but the benefits after a D2 resection have not been extensively investigated in large-scale trials. We investigated the effect on disease-free survival of adjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine plus oxaliplatin after D2 gastrectomy compared with D2 gastrectomy only in patients with stage II-IIIB gastric cancer.

METHODS

The capecitabine and oxaliplatin adjuvant study in stomach cancer (CLASSIC) study was an open-label, parallel-group, phase 3, randomised controlled trial undertaken in 37 centres in South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Patients with stage II-IIIB gastric cancer who had had curative D2 gastrectomy were randomly assigned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy of eight 3-week cycles of oral capecitabine (1000 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1 to 14 of each cycle) plus intravenous oxaliplatin (130 mg/m(2) on day 1 of each cycle) for 6 months or surgery only. Block randomisation was done by a central interactive computerised system, stratified by country and disease stage. Patients, and investigators giving interventions, assessing outcomes, and analysing data were not masked. The primary endpoint was 3 year disease-free survival, analysed by intention to treat. This study reports a prespecified interim efficacy analysis, after which the trial was stopped after a recommendation by the data monitoring committee. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00411229).

FINDINGS

1035 patients were randomised (520 to receive chemotherapy and surgery, 515 surgery only). Median follow-up was 34·2 months (25·4-41·7) in the chemotherapy and surgery group and 34·3 months (25·6-41·9) in the surgery only group. 3 year disease-free survival was 74% (95% CI 69-79) in the chemotherapy and surgery group and 59% (53-64) in the surgery only group (hazard ratio 0·56, 95% CI 0·44-0·72; p<0·0001). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were reported in 279 of 496 patients (56%) in the chemotherapy and surgery group and in 30 of 478 patients (6%) in the surgery only group. The most common adverse events in the intervention group were nausea (n=326), neutropenia (n=300), and decreased appetite (n=294).

INTERPRETATION

Adjuvant capecitabine plus oxaliplatin treatment after curative D2 gastrectomy should be considered as a treatment option for patients with operable gastric cancer.

FUNDING

F Hoffmann-La Roche and Sanofi-Aventis.

Relationship between expression of apoptosis-related proteins and the efficacy of postoperative chemotherapy in patients with T3 gastric cancer

PURPOSE

We investigated the relationship between the p53-dependent apoptotic pathway and the survival of patients with gastric cancer, retrospectively, to elucidate new biomarkers of uracil/tegafur (UFT) chemotherapy.

METHODS

We examined the expression of p53, p21, Bax, and myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) proteins immunohistochemically in 105 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer invading the serosa. Postoperative oral UFT was prescribed for 1 year. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared with the two-sided log-rank test.

RESULTS

Positive staining for p53, p21, Bax, and Mcl-1 proteins was found in 63.8, 52.4, 39.0, and 72.4% of the subjects, respectively. Survival time did not differ significantly between the patients with and those without p53, p21, and Bax expression. However, patients with Mcl-1- tumors survived longer than those with Mcl-1+ tumors. Postoperative UFT treatment did not improve survival; however, adjuvant UFT significantly prolonged the survival of patients with p53-, p21-), Bax+, or Mcl-1+ tumors, but not of patients with p53+, p21+, Bax-, or Mcl-1- tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer may be affected by the status of apoptosis-related proteins such as p53, p21, Bax, and Mcl-1. However, because susceptibility to apoptosis did not explain the sensitivity of chemotherapeutic agents, further investigation of the mutual interaction between apoptosis-related proteins is required.

Advances in the treatment of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer

The clinical curative effect for patients suffering from peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer is relatively poor. Early diagnosis and effective treatment are very important for improving the survival rate in these patients. In recent years, in the light of non-radical treatment of peritoneal metastasis, peritoneal resection has been adopted with a view to alleviating the tumor burden to the greatest extent, combined with intraperitoneal chemotherapy and whole-body intravenous chemotherapy during the entire surgical period. In the meantime, with the better understanding of the pathogenesis of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer, some experimental studies on immunotherapy and gene therapy have also provided new thoughts and methods for the treatment of this disease. In this paper, we review the recent advances in the treatment of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer.