Gastric cancer: Classification, histology and application of molecular pathology

Classification and Grading Systems in Gastric Adenocarcinomas

Gastric adenocarcinomas are lesions that raise important issues in clinical practice, due to their incidence and biological behavior. Over time, various systems have been used for classifying and grading of gastric adenocarcinomas, in the hope of increasing the diagnostic accuracy. In this study we statistically analyzed 112 cases of gastric adenocarcinomas in relation to different classification and grading systems, in order to identify their efficacy and concordance in the histopathological diagnosis. The results indicated a significant association of the Lauren and World Health Organization 2019 classifications and also between these and the three-tier and two-tier grading systems, which supports their practical utility in establishing the diagnosis and assessment of the tumor aggressiveness, for the differentiated therapy.

Clinicopathological differences, risk factors and prognostic scores for western patients with intestinal and diffuse-type gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

In the molecular era, the Laurén system is still a cost-effective and widely implemented classification for gastric cancer (GC) and it has been recently associated with clinical, histological and molecular features of these tumors. Despite recent advances in the understanding of the molecular biology of GC, there is a need to develop new prognostic tools for patient stratification in clinical practice. Thus, the identification of easily available prognostic factors in patients with intestinal and diffuse-type tumors can significantly improve risk assessment and patient stratification in GC.

AIM

To identify clinicopathological differences, risk factors, and to develop cost-effective prognostic scores for patients with intestinal and diffuse-type GC.

METHODS

Retrospective study of all patients undergoing surgery for GC at a tertiary referral center from 2001 to 2019. 286 cases met inclusion criteria (intestinal: 190, diffuse: 96). Clinical data and gross findings were collected. All specimens were reviewed by two independent pathologists and a detailed protocol for histologic evaluation was followed. Five tissue microarrays (TMAs) were constructed and sections of the TMA block were immunostained for HERCEPTEST, MSH2, MSH6, MLH1 and PMS2. Statistical analyses were performed and prognostic scores were developed based on hazard ratios.

RESULTS

Intestinal and diffuse-type GC showed different epidemiological, clinicopathological and prognostic features. Diffuse tumors were significantly associated with younger age, less symptomatology, flat morphology, deeper invasion, perineural infiltration, advanced stage at diagnosis, administration of adjuvant therapy and poorer prognosis. Intestinal lesions were fungoid or polypoid, showed necrosis, desmoplasia, microsatellite instability and HERCEPTEST positivity and were diagnosed at earlier stages. Tumor depth, desmoplasia, macroscopic type and lymph node involvement were independently related to the Laurén subtype. Furthermore, intestinal and diffuse GC were associated with different risk factors for progression and death. Vascular invasion, perineural infiltration and growth pattern were important prognostic factors in intestinal-type GC. On the contrary, tumor size and necrosis were significant prognosticators in diffuse-type GC. Our recurrence and cancer-specific death scores for patients with intestinal and diffuse-type GC showed an excellent patient stratification into three (diffuse GC) or four (intestinal) prognostic groups.

CONCLUSION

Our findings support that Laurén subtypes represent different clinicopathological and biological entities. The development of specific prognostic scores is a useful and cost-effective strategy to improve risk assessment in GC.

Metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma to the uterine cervix-a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Poorly differentiated diffuse-type gastric adenocarcinoma often presents at an advanced stage. While gastric cancer typically metastasizes to the liver, lung and bone, metastasis to the uterine cervix is extremely rare. To our knowledge, less than forty cases have been described in the medical literature.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a case of a 47-year-old woman who presented to us with symptomatic uterine leiomyomas and subsequently underwent a successful total laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The diagnosis of metastatic cancer involving the cervix was established incidentally on histopathology, which demonstrated atypical signet ring cells in the lymphovascular spaces of the cervix. Further investigations for a primary malignancy revealed a poorly differentiated diffuse-type gastric adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSION

Gastric cancer involving the uterine cervix is rare and associated with a poor prognosis. When presented with isolated cervical metastases, the gastrointestinal tract should be considered as a possible primary source. Due to the limited publications on this clinical entity, we expect to raise awareness and study this unique manifestation of gastric cancer by presenting our case.

Efficacy and safety of Elian Granules in treating chronic atrophic gastritis: study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial

Background

Multifocal atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia are considered to be important links in the gastric precancerous cascade. However, there are no specific drugs for these conditions. Although many studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine is effective with no serious side effects, these studies have not been scientifically rigorous trials. Our aim is to design a high-quality trial for a Chinese patent medicine, Elian Granules, to investigate its efficacy and safety in treating patients with chronic atrophic gastritis with or without intestinal metaplasia.

Methods

This is a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial. A total of 240 participants will be assigned to a treatment or placebo control group in a 1:1 ratio. The experimental drug or placebo will be taken with boiling water, two small bags (24.2 g) each time, twice a day, half an hour after a meal, for 24 weeks. The primary outcome is the observation of histological changes in the gastric mucosa of patients with atrophic gastritis with or without intestinal metaplasia after 6 months based on the OLGA/OLGIM staging systems. The secondary outcomes include the assessment of dyspepsia and quality of life based on the dyspepsia symptom score and the quality-of-life scale.

Discussion

This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Elian Granules in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter manner. This trial may not only provide evidence for a phase III clinical trial, but also an alternative option for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG).

Trial registration

Registry Platform For Evidence-Based Traditional Chinese Medicine ChiMCTR2000003929. Registered on 13 September 2020

Characterization of Poorly Cohesive and Signet Ring Cell Carcinomas and Identification of PTPRM as a Diagnostic Marker

Background and aims. Signet ring cell (SRC) and poorly cohesive (PC) gastric carcinomas are morphologically similar but exhibit different biological behavior. We compared the clinical and molecular characteristics of SRC and PC carcinomas. Methods. Diffuse-type gastric cancer (GC) cases were classified into SRC carcinomas (>90% of SRCs), PC carcinomas (<10% of SRCs), and combined PC/SRC carcinomas (≤90% but ≥10% of SRCs). The gene expression patterns in SRC and PC carcinomas were examined by transcriptome and protein immunohistochemistry analyses, and diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers were identified. Results. SRC and PC carcinomas showed significantly different clinical behaviors but shared common RNA expression patterns. PC carcinomas showed an increased expression of genes related to cancer progression. Among genes differentially expressed between PC and SRC carcinomas, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type M (PTPRM) was overexpressed in PC and related to unfavorable clinical factors. Conclusion. We found that PC and SRC carcinomas had distinct clinical characteristics and should be classified as different carcinoma types. PTPRM was identified as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for PC carcinomas and could represent a potential therapeutic target.

Automated Disease Detection in Gastroscopy Videos Using Convolutional Neural Networks

A large percentage of the world's population is affected by gastric diseases ranging from erosion and ulcer to serious ailments such as gastric cancer, which is mainly caused by Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) infection. While most erosions and ulcers are benign, severe cases of gastric diseases can still develop into cancer. Thus, early screening and treatment of all gastric diseases are of great importance. Upper gastroscopy is one such common screening procedure that visualizes the patient's upper digestive system by inserting a camera attached to a rubber tube down the patient's digestive tracts, but since the procedure requires manual inspection of the video feed, it is prone to human errors. To improve the sensitivity and specificity of gastroscopies, we applied deep learning methods to develop an automated gastric disease detection system that detects frames of the video feed showing signs of gastric diseases. To this end, we collected data from images in anonymous patient case reports and gastroscopy videos to train and evaluate a convolutional neural network (CNN), and we used sliding window to improve the stability of our model's video performance. Our CNN model achieved 84.92% sensitivity, 88.26% specificity, and 85.2% F1-score on the test set, as well as 97% true positive rate and 16.2% false positive rate on a separate video test set.

Diet and Risk of Gastric Cancer: An Umbrella Review

Several dietary exposures have been associated with gastric cancer (GC), but the associations are often heterogenous and may be afflicted by inherent biases. In the context of an Umbrella Review (UR), we provide an overview and a critical evaluation of the strength and quality, and evidence classification of the associations of diet-related exposures in relation to the risk of GC. We searched PubMed and Scopus for eligible meta-analyses of observational studies published in English from inception to 12 December 2021, and for any identified association, we applied robust epidemiological validity evaluation criteria and individual study quality assessment using AMSTAR. We screened 3846 titles/abstracts and assessed 501 full articles for eligibility, of which 49 were included in the analysis, investigating 147 unique exposures in relation to GC, cardia (GCC) or non-cardia (GNCC) cancer. Supported by suggestive evidence, positive associations were found comparing the highest vs. lowest categories for: heavy (>42 g/day) alcohol consumption (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.42, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.20−1.67), salted fish consumption (RR = 1.56, 95% CI:1.30−1.87) and waist circumference (RR = 1.48, 95% CI:1.24−1.78) and an inverse association for the healthy lifestyle index (RR = 0.60, 95% CI:0.48−0.74) in relation to GC. Additionally, a positive association was found comparing obese individuals (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30) to normal-weight individuals (BMI: 18.5−25) (RR = 1.82, 95% CI:1.32−2.49) in relation to GCC. Most of the meta-analyses were of medium-to-high quality (median items: 7.0, interquartile range: 6−9). Maintaining a normal body weight and adopting healthy dietary choices, in particular, limiting the consumption of salt-preserved foods and alcohol, can reduce the risk of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer completeness in Finnish Cancer Registry and Finnish Patient Registry: a population-based nationwide retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The only curative treatment options of gastric cancer are perioperative chemotherapy and surgical resection. Many nationwide registries have high validity and provide vast range of opportunities for registry-based research. Cancer diagnoses in the Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR) are reported by pathology laboratories and clinician forms, while discharge diagnosis codes are reported to the Finnish Patient Registry (HILMO) automatically. Finland is known for complete registries but the completeness of gastric cancer in FCR and HILMO remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to assess the registry coverage for gastric cancer in FCR and HILMO and to explore potential reasons for possible differences between these registries.

DESIGN

Population-based nationwide retrospective cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

All patients diagnosed with gastric cancer in Finland during 1990 to 2014, with follow-up until 31 December 2019.

RESULTS

Out of 21 468 total gastric cancers reported to either registry, 17 107 (79.7%) had a gastric cancer diagnosis in both registries. A substantial decrease from 88.3% to 83.4% was observed in the proportion of cases reported to FCR over time. The completeness of FCR was estimated at 87%. For HILMO, the completeness was 92.7%. Death due to gastric cancer was most common in those with gastric cancer in both registries (80.8%), and less common in those reported to only FCR (36.3%), followed by those reported to only HILMO (9.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicates that gastric cancer is well captured by both FCR and HILMO but there is an alarming decrease in the proportion of cases captured by the FCR over time. Some gastric cancer diagnoses in HILMO might, however, be misclassified due to cancer diagnoses being assigned based on clinical suspicion.

Transcriptome analysis reveals SALL4 as a prognostic key gene in gastric adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) dominates 80-90% of gastric cancer (GC). Over the years, it has been realized that the identification of the genes responsible for gastric carcinogenesis is essential to understand the biomarker discovery.

METHODS

This study aims to identify candidate genes for biomarker discovery in STAD. RNA-Seq was performed on three paired tumor-normal and one unpaired tumor samples from four GC patients and investigated for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using DESeq2. Gene set enrichment analysis were performed. The DEGs were compared with two STAD microarray datasets available on Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Survival study (OS) were performed using KM-Plotter on the common genes between all the datasets.

RESULTS

Totally, 148 DEGs were identified, wherein 55 genes were upregulated and 93 genes were downregulated with |log2foldchange| > 1 and Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) Adjusted P value < 0.01. Cell adhesion molecule (CAM) Pathway was found to be the most significant among the upregulated genes. Gastric acid secretion and mineral absorption pathways were the most significant pathways among the downregulated genes. Comparison with two GEO datasets followed by OS analysis revealed two upregulating genes, APOC1 and SALL4 with prognostic significance.

CONCLUSION

Upregulation of APOC1 is associated with marginal overall survival (OS) and SALL4 over-expression was associated with the poor OS using KM-Plotter during 5 years data period. Our study suggests that SALL4 could be a promising biomarker candidate in STAD.

Homeostasis and Cancer Initiation: Organoids as Models to Study the Initiation of Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer represents a significant disease burden worldwide. The factors that initiate cancer are not well understood. Chronic inflammation such as that triggered by H. pylori infection is the most significant cause of gastric cancer. In recent years, organoid cultures developed from human and animal adult stem cells have facilitated great advances in our understanding of gastric homeostasis. Organoid models are now being exploited to investigate the role of host genetics and bacterial factors on proliferation and DNA damage in gastric stem cells. The impact of a chronic inflammatory state on gastric stem cells and the stroma has been less well addressed. This review discusses what we have learned from the use of organoid models to investigate cancer initiation, and highlights questions on the contribution of the microbiota, chronic inflammatory milieu, and stromal cells that can now be addressed by more complex coculture models.

The Roles of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were reported to have strong immunomodulatory ability, and inhibit the proliferation of T cells and their immune response through cell-to-cell interactions and the generation of cytokines. With high differentiation potential and self-renewal ability, MSCs are considered to function in alleviating inflammatory responses, promoting tissue regeneration and inhibiting tissue fibrosis formation. As the most common malignancies, gastrointestinal (GI) cancers have high incidence and mortality. The accurate diagnosis, exact prognosis and treatment of GI cancers have always been a hot topic. Therefore, the potential applications of MSCs in terms of GI cancers are receiving more and more attention. Recently, there is increasing evidence that MSCs may serve as a key point in the growth, metastasis, inhibition, treatment and prognosis of GI cancers. In this review, we summarized the roles of MSCs in GI cancers, mainly focusing on esophageal cancer (EC), gastric cancer (GC), liver cancer (LC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic cancer. Besides, we proposed MSCs as potential targets and treatment strategies for the effective treatment of GI cancers, which may provide better guidance for the clinical treatment of GI cancers.

Metabolic Reprogramming in Response to Alterations of Mitochondrial DNA and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Gastric Adenocarcinoma

We used gastric cancer cell line AGS and clinical samples to investigate the roles of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alterations and mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). A total of 131 clinical samples, including 17 normal gastric mucosa (N-GM) from overweight patients who had received sleeve gastrectomy and 57 paired non-cancerous gastric mucosae (NC-GM) and GAC from GAC patients who had undergone partial/subtotal/total gastrectomy, were recruited to examine the copy number and D310 sequences of mtDNA. The gastric cancer cell line AGS was used with knockdown (KD) mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) to achieve mitochondrial dysfunction through a decrease of mtDNA copy number. Parental (PT), null-target (NT), and TFAM-KD-(A/B/C) represented the parental, control, and TFAM knocked-down AGS cells, respectively. These cells were used to compare the parameters reflecting mitochondrial biogenesis, glycolysis, and cell migration activity. The median mtDNA copy numbers of 17 N-GM, 57 NC-GM, and 57 GAC were 0.058, 0.055, and 0.045, respectively. The trend of decrease was significant (p = 0.030). In addition, GAC had a lower mean mtDNA copy number of 0.055 as compared with the paired NC-GM of 0.078 (p < 0.001). The mean mtDNA copy number ratio (mtDNA copy number of GAC/mtDNA copy number of paired NC-GM) was 0.891. A total of 35 (61.4%) GAC samples had an mtDNA copy number ratio ≤0.804 (p = 0.017) and 27 (47.4%) harbored a D310 mutation (p = 0.047), and these patients had shorter survival time and poorer prognosis. After effective knockdown of TFAM, TFAM-KD-B/C cells expressed higher levels of hexokinase II (HK-II) and v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 gene (AKT)-encoded AKT, but lower levels of phosphorylated pyruvate dehydrogenase (p-PDH) than did the NT/PT AGS cells. Except for a higher level of p-PDH, the expression levels of these proteins remained unchanged in TFAM-KD-A, which had a mild knockdown of TFAM. Compared to those of NT, TFAM-KD-C had not only a lower mtDNA copy number (p = 0.050), but also lower oxygen consumption rates (OCR), including basal respiration (OCR_BR), ATP-coupled respiration (OCR_ATP), reserve capacity (OCR_RC), and proton leak (OCR_PL)(all with p = 0.050). In contrast, TFAM-KD-C expressed a higher extracellular acidification rate (ECAR)/OCR_BR ratio (p = 0.050) and a faster wound healing migration at 6, 12, and 18 h, respectively (all with p = 0.050). Beyond a threshold, the decrease in mtDNA copy number, the mtDNA D310 mutation, and mitochondrial dysfunction were involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of GACs. Activation of PDH might be considered as compensation for the mitochondrial dysfunction in response to glucose metabolic reprogramming or to adjust mitochondrial plasticity in GAC.

E-Cadherin Modulation and Inter-Cellular Trafficking in Tubular Gastric Adenocarcinoma: A High-Resolution Microscopy Pilot Study

Despite the numerous advances in tumor molecular biology and chemotherapy options, gastric adenocarcinoma is still the most frequent form of gastric cancer. One of the core proteins that regulates inter-cellular adhesion, E-cadherin plays important roles in tumorigenesis as well as in tumor progression; however, the exact expression changes and modulation that occur in gastric cancer are not yet fully understood. In an attempt to estimate if the synthesis/degradation balance matches the final membrane expression of this adhesion molecule in cancer tissue, we assessed the proportion of E-cadherin that is found in the Golgi vesicles as well as in the lysosomal pathway We utilized archived tissue fragments from 18 patients with well and poorly differentiated intestinal types of gastric cancer and 5 samples of normal gastric mucosa, by using high-magnification multispectral microscopy and high-resolution fluorescence deconvolution microscopy. Our data showed that E-cadherin is not only expressed in the membrane, but also in the cytoplasm of normal and tumor gastric epithelia. E-cadherin colocalization with the Golgian vesicles seemed to be increasing with less differentiated tumors, while co-localization with the lysosomal system decreased in tumor tissue; however, the membrane expression of the adhesion molecule clearly dropped from well to poorly differentiated tumors. Thus E-cadherin seems to be more abundantly synthetized than eliminated via lysosomes/exosomes in less differentiated tumors, suggesting that post-translational modifications, such as cleavage, conformational inactivation, or exocytosis, are responsible for the net drop of E-cadherin at the level of the membrane in more anaplastic tumors. This behavior is in perfect accordance with the concept of partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (P-EMT), when the E-cadherin expression of tumor cells is in fact not downregulated but redistributed away from the membrane in recycling vesicles. Moreover, our high-resolution deconvolution microscopy study showed for the first time, at the tissue level, the presence of Lysosome-associated membrane glycoprotein 1 (LAMP1)-positive exosomes/multivesicular bodies being trafficked across the membranes of tumor epithelial cells. Altogether, a myriad of putative modulatory pathways is available as a treatment turning point, even if we are to only consider the metabolism of membrane E-cadherin regulation. Future super-resolution microscopy studies are needed to clarify the extent of lysosome/exosome exchange between tumor cells and with the surrounding stroma, in histopathology samples or even in vivo.

Role of CT texture analysis for predicting peritoneal metastases in patients with gastric cancer

PURPOSE

Aim of the study was to perform CT texture analysis in patients with gastric cancer (GC) to investigate potential role of radiomics for predicting the occurrence of peritoneal metastases (PM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this single-centre retrospective study, patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and surgically confirmed presence or absence of PM were, respectively, enrolled in group PM and group non-PM. Patients with T1-staging, previous treatment or presence of imaging artifacts were excluded from the study. Pre-operative CT examinations were evaluated. Acquisition protocol consisted of gastric distension with water, pre-contrast and arterial phases on upper abdomen and portal phase on thorax and whole abdomen. Texture analysis was performed on portal phase images: the region of interest was manually drawn along the margins of the primitive lesion on each slice and the volume of interest of the whole tumour was obtained. A total of 38 texture parameters were extracted and analysed. ROC curves were performed on significant texture features (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression was conducted on features with the best AUC to identify differentiating variables for both groups.

RESULTS

A total of 90 patients were evaluated (group PM, n = 45; group non-PM, n = 45). T2/T3 tumours were prevalent in group non-PM, T4 was significantly associated with group PM. Significant differences between the two groups were observed for 22/38 texture parameters. Volume and GLRLM_LRHGE showed the greatest AUC in ROC curve analysis (0.737 and 0.734, respectively) and were found to be independent differentiating variables of group PM in the multiple regression analysis (OR 8.44, [95% CI, 1.52-46.8] and OR 18.99 [95% CI, 84-195.31], respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our preliminary results suggest the potential value of CT texture analysis for predicting the risk of PM from GC, which may be helpful to stratify patients and address them to the most appropriate treatment.

An Insight into miR-1290: An Oncogenic miRNA with Diagnostic Potential

For more than two decades, the view of the roles of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been radically changing. These RNA molecules that are transcribed from our genome do not have the capacity to encode proteins, but are critical regulators of gene expression at different levels. Our knowledge is constantly enriched by new reports revealing the role of these new molecular players in the development of many pathological conditions, including cancer. One of the ncRNA classes includes short RNA molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs), which are involved in the post-transcriptional control of gene expression affecting various cellular processes. The aberrant expression of miRNAs with oncogenic and tumor-suppressive function is associated with cancer initiation, promotion, malignant transformation, progression and metastasis. Oncogenic miRNAs, also known as oncomirs, mediate the downregulation of tumor-suppressor genes and their expression is upregulated in cancer. Nowadays, miRNAs show promising application in diagnosis, prediction, disease monitoring and therapy response. Our review presents a current view of the oncogenic role of miR-1290 with emphasis on its properties as a cancer biomarker in clinical medicine.

Prediction of Two Molecular Subtypes of Gastric Cancer Based on Immune Signature

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common type of human cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. The purpose of this study is to investigate the immune infiltration signatures of gastric cancer and their relation to prognosis. We identified two distinct subtypes of gastric cancer (C1/C2) characterized by different immune infiltration signatures. C1 is featured by immune resting, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and angiogenesis pathways, while C2 is featured by enrichment of the MYC target, oxidative phosphorylation, and E2F target pathways. The C2 subtype has a better prognosis than the C1 subtype (HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.44–0.85; log-rank test, p = 0.0029). The association of C1/C2 with prognosis remained statistically significant (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.44–0.87; p = 0.006) after controlling for age, gender, and stage. The prognosis prediction of C1/C2 was verified in four independent cohorts (including an internal cohort). In summary, our study is helpful for better understanding of the association between immune infiltration and the prognosis of gastric cancer.

Impact of Surgical Margins on Overall Survival after Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Validation of Japanese Gastric Cancer Association Guidelines on a Western Series

Purpose

No consensus exists on the resection extent needed to ensure oncological safety in gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). This study aims to assess the impact of margin adequacy according to Japanese Gastric Cancer Association (JGCA) guidelines on overall survival (OS).

Patients and Methods

Patients who underwent surgery for stage I–III GAC at our institution between 2010 and 2017 were included. Margin adequacy according to JGCA, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines was assessed, and their predictive value on OS was evaluated with Harrell’s C-index. Patients were analyzed according to their margins’ adherence to JGCA guidelines, and a propensity score matching (PSM) was run. Indication to either total gastrectomy (TG) or distal gastrectomy (DG) according to each guideline was also assessed.

Results

A total of 279 patients were included, of whom 220 (79%) underwent DG. Adequate margins according to JGCA were obtained in 209 patients (75%). On multivariate analysis, JGCA margin adequacy was independently associated with OS, together with American Society of Anesthesiologist class, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, lymphadenectomy extent, R0 resection, and postoperative N stage. After PSM, patients with JGCA adequate margins showed better OS, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and local RFS than patients with JGCA inadequate margins. For 220 DG, JGCA guidelines would have recommended TG in 25 patients (11%), NCCN in 30 (14%), and ESMO in 90 (41%) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Adequacy of surgical resection margins to JGCA guidelines leads to improved survival outcomes and allows for a more organ-preserving approach than Western guidelines.

Survival trends in gastric cancer patients between 1987 and 2016: a population-based cohort study in Finland

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. There is a paucity of national studies examining gastric cancer mortality in relation to treatment status. This study evaluated the survival trends in gastric adenocarcinoma and all gastric cancers stratified by treatment in Finland during 1987-2016.

METHODS

This population-based, nationwide, retrospective cohort study included all gastric cancer patients registered in the Finnish Cancer Registry and Patient Registry. The survival rates were calculated for 1, 3, and 5 years, stratified by treatment. Prognostic factors were determined using Cox regression.

RESULTS

A total of 18,713 non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma, and 3617 cardia adenocarcinoma patients were included. Surgical treatment decreased for non-cardia adenocarcinoma and remained constant for cardia adenocarcinoma. In non-cardia adenocarcinoma, the 5-year survival declined from 17% to 16% from 1987-1991 to 2012-2016. In surgically treated patients, survival increased from 29% to 38%, while an increase from 4% to 7% in those undergoing chemotherapy and decrease from 6% to 3% in those not receiving any treatment were observed. In cardia adenocarcinoma, the 5-year survival increased from 10% to 18% in all patients, 16% to 40% in surgical patients, 0% to 5% in patients receiving chemotherapy, and from 5% to 9% in patients receiving no treatment. Earlier calendar periods, older age, male sex, and higher comorbidity were risk factors for poor prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Gastric non-cardia adenocarcinoma survival declined, limited to advanced stage patients not receiving any treatment. Gastric cardia cancer survival seems to have improved over time in Finland. This study evaluated survival trends of gastric cancer in Finland during 1987-2016 and established that the 5-year survival is declining in non-cardia adenocarcinoma but improving in all gastric cancers.

Development of a predictive model for extragastric recurrence after curative resection for early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Stratification of patients who undergo curative resection for early gastric cancer (EGC) is warranted due to the heterogeneity in the risk of developing extragastric recurrence (EGR). Therefore, we aimed to stratify the need for postoperative surveillance for EGR detection in patients with EGC by developing a model for predicting EGR-free survival.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent postoperative surveillance after curative resection of EGC (n = 4149). Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify predictors to build a model for predicting EGR-free survival. Bootstrap-corrected c-index and calibration plots were used for internal and external (n = 2148) validations.

RESULTS

A risk-scoring system was constructed using variables significantly associated with EGR-free survival: pathologic T stage (pT1b[sm1], hazard ratio [HR] 4.928; pT1b[sm2], HR 5.235; pT1b[sm3], HR 7.748) and N stage (pN1, HR 4.056; pN2, HR 9.075; pN3, HR 30.659). Patients were dichotomized into a very-low-risk group or a low-or-greater-risk group. The 5-year EGR-free survival rates differed between the two groups (99.9 vs. 97.3%). The discriminative performance of the model was 0.851 (Uno's c-index) and 0.751 in the internal and external cohorts, respectively. The calibration slope was 0.916 and 1.131 in the internal and external cohorts, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our model for predicting EGR-free survival based on the pathologic T and N stages may be useful for stratifying patients who have undergone curative surgery for EGC. The results suggest that patients in the very-low-risk group may be spared from postoperative surveillance considering their extremely high EGR-free survival rate.

Introducing critical common dysregulated proteins in esophageal, gastric, and intestinal cancers

Aim

The current study aimed to determine the common dysregulated proteins between esophageal, gastric, and intestinal cancers.

Background

Though there are several documents about the role of AKT1 in promoting of esophageal, gastric, and intestinal cancers, there is not enough evidence about the dominant role of AKT1 relative to the other oncogene genes in the promotion of the three studied cancer types.

Methods

One hundred proteins related to each of esophageal, gastric, or intestinal cancer were retrieved from the STRING database and interacted by Cytoscape software v 3.2.7. 2 to create the correlated interactomes. The network was analyzed by the "NetworkAnalyzer" application of Cytoscape to find the centrality parameters of the nodes. Results of network analysis and action map assessment were used to determine the common critical proteins between the three studied cancers.

Results

One hundred proteins were extracted for each of the studied cancers. Among 42 common dysregulated proteins, 36 individuals were selected through network analysis and were screened through action map assessment. Eighteen proteins were introduced as the important common proteins. Finally, AKT1 was a candidate for the crucial dysregulated proteins common in the three analyzed diseases.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that AKT1, relative to the other oncogene genes, is a suitable candidate to be evaluated in patients as a prediagnostic tool to reduce endoscopy and colonoscopy rates.

Comparison of tumor regression grading systems for locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Current tumor regression grade (TRG) evaluations are based on various systems which brings confusion for oncologists and pathologists when interpreting results. The recent six-tier system (JGCA2017-TRG) recommended by the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association (JGCA) is worth investigating, as four-tier TRG systems are favored in various parts of the world.

AIM

To compare the predictive accuracies of five published TRG systems.

METHODS

Data were retrospectively collected from patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by D2 Lymphadenectomy between January 2005 and January 2014 at our institution. Outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), which were evaluated separately using the following TRG systems: JGCA2017, JGCA, Becker, AJCC/CAP, and Mandard.

RESULTS

All five published TRG systems were independent predictors for OS and DFS. Concordance indices of the JGCA2017, JGCA, Becker, AJCC/CAP-TRG, and Mandard systems were 0.651/0.648 0.652/0.649, 0.693/0.695, 0.688/0.685, and 0.674/0.675 for OS and DFS, respectively. The four-tier Becker system showed the highest c-index, which was significantly greater than that of the six-tier JGCA2017 and five-tier JGCA systems (P < 0.05 in OS and DFS). When residual tumor percentages were reset as: “no residual tumor”, < 10%, < 100%, and “no response”, the rearranged cutoff values achieved a maximum c-index with 0.728 for OS and 0.737 for DFS, which was superior to the other five systems.

CONCLUSION

The newly introduced six-tier JGCA-TRG system cannot increase prognostic stratification. The four-tier Becker system is more suitable for LAGC patients. A population-based study is warranted to define the optimal criterion for TRG in LAGC patients.

Peripheral Cytokine Levels as a Prognostic Indicator in Gastric Cancer: A Review of Existing Literature

Although strong connections exist between the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer and chronic inflammation, gastric cancer is unique in that the chronic gastritis which frequently precedes carcinogenesis is strongly associated with H. pylori infection. The interplay between H. pylori virulence factors and host immune cells is complex but culminates in the activation of inflammatory pathways and transcription factors such as NF-κB, STAT3, and AP-1, all of which upregulate cytokine production. Due to the key role of cytokines in modulating the immune response against tumour cells as well as possibly stimulating tumour growth and proliferation, different patterns of cytokine secretion may be associated with varying patient outcomes. In relation to gastric cancer, interleukin-6, 8, 10, 17A, TNF, and IFN-γ may have pro-tumour properties, although interleukin-10, TNF, and IFN-γ may have anti-tumour effects. However, due to the lack of studies investigating patient outcomes, only a link between higher interleukin-6 levels and poorer prognosis has been demonstrated. Further investigations which link peripheral cytokine levels to patient prognosis may elucidate important pathological mechanisms in gastric cancer which adversely impact patient survival and allow treatments targeting these processes to be developed.

Development and Application of Patient-Derived Cancer Organoidsin Clinical Management of Gastrointestinal Cancer: A State-of-the-Art Review

Human gastrointestinal cancer (e.g., gastric cancer and colorectal cancer) has been a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and has imposed a great threat to the public health. Although early-stage gastrointestinal cancer can be effectively treated by surgery, followed by postoperative chemotherapy, patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer often exhibit poor prognosis and cancer relapse due to the absence of effective personalized treatment strategies. Patient-derived cancer organoid technology has been rapidly developed in recent years, and its emergence has opened up an unprecedented approach to model human cancers in vitro. Patient-derived cancer organoids involve the ex vivo culture of fragments of freshly resected human tumors that retain the histological features of original tumors. This review thoroughly discussed the evolutionary process of human gastrointestinal organoids cultured since 2009, and highlighted the potentials of patient-derived cancer organoids in clinical management of gastrointestinal cancer in terms of advances achieved in cancer modelling compared with conventional modelling methods, high-throughput drug screening, and development of personalized treatment selection. Additionally, the current limitations of patient-derived cancer organoids and the potential solutions to overcome these problems were summarized.

Conversion therapy with tislelizumab for high microsatellite instability, unresectable stage III gastric cancer: a case report

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth-highest ranked cancer for incidence and second for mortality from cancer worldwide. Conversion therapy has recently emerged as an alternative therapy for advanced/metastatic GC patients who are unable to undergo surgical resection at the time of diagnosis. Herein, we present the case of a patient with unresectable stage III GC of high microsatellite instability (MSI), high tumor mutation burden (TMB), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive. The patient received conversion therapy involving a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimens. After 3 courses of chemotherapy combined with tislelizumab, the patient underwent laparoscopic radical total gastrectomy. The pathological examination demonstrated that there was no cancerous tissue at the proximal or distal end of the tumor and no lymph node metastases in the lesser or greater curvature, indicating a pathologic complete response. Thereafter, the patient continued tislelizumab treatment to prevent postoperative carcinoma recurrence and metastasis, and to improve prognosis. In conclusion, our study confirmed that chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy is a promising conversion therapy for GC patients with locally unresectable lesions or distant lymph node metastasis, and these findings warrant large-scale clinical studies. This report highlights the clinical importance of next-generation sequencing technology in investigating therapeutic strategy to provide the maximal clinical benefit for patients with GC.

PRNCR1: a long non-coding RNA with a pivotal oncogenic role in cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been gaining importance in the field of cancer research in recent years. PRNCR1 (prostate cancer-associated non-coding RNA1) is a 12.7 kb, intron-less lncRNA found to play an oncogenic role in malignancy of diverse organs including prostate, breast, lung, oral cavity, colon and rectum. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PRNCR1 locus have been found to be associated with cancer susceptibility in different populations. In this review, an attempt has been made for the first time to summarize all sorts of available data on PRNCR1 to date from relevant databases (GeneCard, LncExpDB, Ensembl genome browser, and PubMed). As functional roles of PRNCR1, miRNA (microRNA) sponging was mostly highlighted in the pathogenesis of different cancer; in addition, an association of the lncRNA with chromatin-modifying complex to enhance androgen receptor-mediated gene transcription was reported in prostate cancer. Diagnostic and prognostic importance of PRNCR1 was found in some malignancies suggesting potency of the lncRNA to serve as a clinical biomarker. For PRNCR1 SNPs, although cancer susceptibility of the risk alleles/genotypes was reported in different populations, majorities of the findings were not replicated and underlying molecular mechanisms remained unexplored. Therapeutic implication of PRNCR1 was not studied well and future research may come up in this direction for intervening novel strategies to fight against cancer.

A deep learning model for gastric diffuse-type adenocarcinoma classification in whole slide images

Gastric diffuse-type adenocarcinoma represents a disproportionately high percentage of cases of gastric cancers occurring in the young, and its relative incidence seems to be on the rise. Usually it affects the body of the stomach, and it presents shorter duration and worse prognosis compared with the differentiated (intestinal) type adenocarcinoma. The main difficulty encountered in the differential diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinomas occurs with the diffuse-type. As the cancer cells of diffuse-type adenocarcinoma are often single and inconspicuous in a background desmoplaia and inflammation, it can often be mistaken for a wide variety of non-neoplastic lesions including gastritis or reactive endothelial cells seen in granulation tissue. In this study we trained deep learning models to classify gastric diffuse-type adenocarcinoma from WSIs. We evaluated the models on five test sets obtained from distinct sources, achieving receiver operator curve (ROC) area under the curves (AUCs) in the range of 0.95–0.99. The highly promising results demonstrate the potential of AI-based computational pathology for aiding pathologists in their diagnostic workflow system.

Potential of Bioactive Food Components against Gastric Cancer: Insights into Molecular Mechanism and Therapeutic Targets

Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Accumulated evidence and epidemiological studies have indicated that bioactive food components from natural products play an important role in gastric cancer prevention and treatment, although its mechanism of action has not yet been elucidated. Particularly, experimental studies have shown that natural bioactive food products display a protective effect against gastric cancer via numerous molecular mechanisms, such as suppression of cell metastasis, anti-angiogenesis, inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and modulation of autophagy. Chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for advanced gastric cancer along with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, as well as immunotherapy, and its adverse side effects including neutropenia, stomatitis, mucositis, diarrhea, nausea, and emesis are well documented. However, administration of naturally occurring bioactive phytochemical food components could increase the efficacy of gastric chemotherapy and other chemotherapeutic resistance. Additionally, several studies have suggested that bioactive food components with structural stability, potential bioavailability, and powerful bioactivity are important to develop novel treatment strategies for gastric cancer management, which may minimize the adverse effects. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize the potential therapeutic effects of natural bioactive food products on the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer with intensive molecular mechanisms of action, bioavailability, and safety efficacy.

Well differentiated carcinoma with a poor prognosis: a retrospective analysis of papillary gastric adenocarcinoma

PURPOSE

To explore the clinicopathological features and prognosis of papillary gastric adenocarcinoma (PGC).

METHODS

The subjects of this retrospective analysis were 1525 patients with gastric cancer in a single center in China.

RESULTS

The patients with PGC were generally of advanced age and the tumor was located in the upper 1/3 of the stomach. PGC was well or moderately differentiated, with serosal infiltration, early lymph node metastasis, TNM stages I/II, liver metastasis, and a short postoperative overall survival time. Patients with the secondary pathological type of papillary adenocarcinoma presented with clinicopathological similarities to those with primary PGC. PGC was a risk factor for poor survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses.

CONCLUSION

Papillary gastric adenocarcinoma (PGC) showed different clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis to other types of gastric cancer (GC), even if it was not the primary pathological type. The higher the proportion of papillary adenocarcinoma in gastric cancer samples, the shorter the postoperative survival time of patients. PGC needs further multicenter studies.

Reproduction of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) Gastric Cancer Molecular Classifications and Their Association with Clinicopathological Characteristics and Overall Survival in Moroccan Patients

Introduction

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project and Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) recently categorized gastric cancer into molecular subtypes. Nevertheless, these classification systems require high cost and sophisticated molecular technologies, preventing their widespread use in the clinic. This study is aimed to generating molecular subtypes of gastric cancer using techniques available in routine diagnostic practice in a series of Moroccan gastric cancer patients. In addition, we assessed the associations between molecular subtypes, clinicopathological features, and prognosis.

Methods

Ninety-seven gastric cancer cases were classified according to TCGA, ACRG, and integrated classifications using a panel of four molecular markers (EBV, MSI, E-cadherin, and p53). HER2 status and PD-L1 expression were also evaluated. These markers were analyzed using immunohistochemistry (E-cadherin, p53, HER2, and PD-L1), in situ hybridization (EBV and HER2 equivocal cases), and multiplex PCR (MSI).

Results

Our results showed that the subtypes presented distinct clinicopathological features and prognosis. EBV-positive gastric cancers were found exclusively in male patients. The GS (TCGA classification), MSS/EMT (ACRG classification), and E-cadherin aberrant subtype (integrated classification) presented the Lauren diffuse histology enrichment and tended to be diagnosed at a younger age. The MSI subtype was associated with a better overall survival across all classifications (TCGA, ACRG, and integrated classification). The worst prognosis was observed in the EBV subtype (TCGA and integrated classification) and MSS/EMT subtype (ACRG classification). Discussion/Conclusion. We reported a reproducible and affordable gastric cancer subtyping algorithms that can reproduce the recently recognized TCGA, ACRG, and integrated gastric cancer classifications, using techniques available in routine diagnosis. These simplified classifications can be employed not only for molecular classification but also in predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.

[Poorly cohesive gastric carcinoma. Validity of using the term; translation variants]

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is common practice to use two classification systems: the Lauren classification system and the WHO classification of tumors in the morphological study of gastric carcinomas. Since 2010, the WHO classifications have included the term "poorly cohesive carcinoma", which refers to all diffuse forms of gastric cancer, including signet ring cell carcinoma and other subtypes. Despite this, the term has not been widely used in the world community, and it is almost not found in Russian literature. Only recently, after the publication of the 5th edition of the WHO classification (2019), there have been review articles where the term is used, but its name can be translated into Russian in different ways: poor-, weak -, low-adhesive, discogesive. The paper analyzes the Pubmed and Elibrary databases in order to find out the frequency of using various designations for diffuse gastric carcinoma, justifies the use of the term «poorly cohesive carcinoma», and proposes a variant of the term interpretation in Russian.

Prognostic Role of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-Like Orphan Receptors in Intestinal-Type Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is diagnosed at advanced stages and has high mortality rates. Surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy are the main therapeutic approaches for GC. Despite curative resection, recurrence and metastasis contribute to a high mortality rate in patients with GC. The receptor-tyrosine-kinase-like orphan receptors 1/2 (ROR1/2) are transmembrane proteins belonging to the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. ROR1 and ROR2 are known to overexpress in the tumor tissues from several types of cancer patients. However, the role of RORs in the prognosis has not been understood.

METHODS

This study aimed to determine the association of mRNA expression of ROR1, ROR2, and their signaling components WNT5A, NKX2-1, and FOXF1, with the survival outcome of GC patients. We performed Kaplan-Meir survival analysis on publicly available 'The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)' data sets using 'Kaplan-Meir Plotter.'

RESULTS

High mRNA expression of ROR1, ROR2, NKX2-1, and FOXF1 was significantly correlated with worse overall survival (OS) of GC patients. Interestingly ROR1 and ROR showed a prognostic role in the intestinal subtype, but not in the diffuse subtype of GC.  Furthermore, ROR1 was positively correlated with regulatory T cells and M2-type macrophages and negatively correlated with Th17 and natural killer T cells in the tumor stroma of patients with GC.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that the expression of ROR1, ROR2, and their associated genes correlate with worst prognosis of GC patients, particularly in the intestinal type.
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Impact of the Interval between Previous Endoscopic Exam and Diagnosis on the Mortality and Treatment Modality of Undifferentiated-Type Gastric Cancer

Purpose

The impact of the interval between previous endoscopy and diagnosis on the treatment modality or mortality of undifferentiated (UD)-type gastric cancer is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of endoscopic screening interval on the stage, cancer-related mortality, and treatment methods of UD-type gastric cancer.

Materials and Methods

We reviewed the medical records of newly diagnosed patients with UD gastric cancer in 2013, in whom the interval between previous endoscopy and diagnosis could be determined. The patients were classified into different groups according to the period from the previous endoscopy to diagnosis (<12 months, 12–23 months, 24–35 months, ≥36 months, and no history of endoscopy), and the outcomes were compared between the groups. In addition, patients who underwent endoscopic and surgical treatment were reclassified based on the final treatment results.

Results

The number of enrolled patients was 440, with males representing 64.1% of the study population; 11.8% of the participants reported that they had undergone endoscopy for the first time in their cancer diagnosis. The percentage of stage I cancer at diagnosis significantly decreased as the interval from the previous endoscopy to diagnosis increased (65.4%, 63.2%, 64.2%, 45.9%, and 35.2% for intervals of <12 months, 12–23 months, 24–35 months, ≥36 months, and no previous endoscopy, respectively, P<0.01). Cancer-related mortality was significantly lower for a 3-year interval of endoscopy (P<0.001).

Conclusions

A 3-year interval of endoscopic screening reduces gastric-cancer-related mortality, particularly in cases of UD histology.

Are Borrmann's Types of Advanced Gastric Cancer Distinct Clinicopathological and Molecular Entities? A Western Study

Most studies on the clinicopathological impact of Borrmann classification for gastric cancer (GC) have been performed in Asian patients with type IV tumors, and immunohistochemical features of Borrmann types have scarcely been analyzed. We assessed the clinicopathological, molecular features and prognostic value of Borrmann types in all patients with advanced GC resected in a Western institution (n = 260). We observed a significant relationship between Borrmann types and age, systemic symptoms, tumor size, Laurén subtype, presence of signet-ring cells, infiltrative growth, high grade, tumor necrosis, HERCEPTEST positivity, microsatellite instability (MSI) and molecular subtypes. Polypoid GC showed systemic symptoms, intestinal-type histology, low grade, expansive growth and HERCEPTEST positivity. Fungating GC occurred in symptomatic older patients. It presented intestinal-type histology, infiltrative growth and necrosis. Ulcerated GC showed smaller size, intestinal-type histology, high grade and infiltrative growth. Most polypoid and ulcerated tumors were stable-p53-not overexpressed or microsatellite unstable. Flat lesions were high-grade diffuse tumors with no MSI, and occurred in younger and less symptomatic patients. No association was found between Borrmann classification and prognosis. According to our results, Borrmann types may represent distinct clinicopathological and biological entities. Further research should be conducted to confirm the role of Borrmann classification in the stratification of patients with advanced GC.

Evaluation of the reporting quality of guidelines for gastric cancer using the RIGHT checklist

Background

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer globally. We aimed to evaluate the reporting quality of clinical practice guidelines in the field of gastric cancer.

Methods

We searched Medline (via PubMed), China Biology Medicine, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and WanFang databases and the websites of the main guideline development organizations from 2018 to 2020 for guidelines on gastric cancer. Data were extracted and the reporting quality evaluated by two researchers independently using the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) checklist. We assessed the compliance of the guidelines to each of the 35 items of RIGHT and summarized the reporting proportions of the seven domains of RIGHT.

Results

Eighteen guidelines were included. The mean proportion of appropriately reported RIGHT items was 52.4%. Among the seven domains of the RIGHT checklist, Basic information had the highest reporting rate (78.7%), and Review and quality assurance domain the lowest rate (16.7%). The domains Evidence (40.0%), Funding and declaration and management of interests (43.1%), and Other information (31.5%) had also reporting rates below 50%. Two RIGHT items (17 and 19b) were not reported by any of the guidelines.

Conclusions

The reporting quality of gastric cancer guidelines published in the years 2018-2020 was suboptimal, especially regarding the reporting of review, quality assurance and evidence. Guideline developers should pay attention on rigorous reporting following international standard to improve the quality of guidelines.

Short-term Outcomes of Gastric Cancer at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Rwanda

PURPOSE

Gastric cancer is endemic in the so-called stomach cancer region comprising Rwanda, Burundi, South Western Uganda, and eastern Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo, but its outcomes in that region are under investigated. The purpose of this study was to describe the short-term outcomes (in-hospital mortality rate, length of hospital stay, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month survival rates) in patients treated for gastric cancer in Rwanda.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the data collected from records of patients who consulted Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK) over a period of 10 years from September 2007 to August 2016. We followed patients before and after discharge for survival data. Baseline demographic data studied using descriptive statistics, whereas Kaplan-Meier model and univariate Cox regression were used for survival analysis.

RESULTS

Among 199 patients enrolled in this study, 92 (46%) were males and 107 (54%) females. The age was ranging between 24 and 93 years with a mean age of 55.4. The mean symptom duration was 15 months. Many patients had advanced disease, 62.3% with distant metastases on presentation. Treatment with curative intent was offered for only 19.9% of patients. The in-hospital mortality rate was 13.3%. The 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month survival rate was 52%, 40.5%, 28%, and 23.4%, respectively. The overall survival rate was 7 months.

CONCLUSION

Rwanda records a high number of delayed consultations and advanced disease at the time of presentation in patients with gastric cancer. This cancer is associated with poor outcomes as evidenced by high hospital mortality rates and short post discharge survival.

Evaluating the transcriptional fidelity of cancer models

BACKGROUND

Cancer researchers use cell lines, patient-derived xenografts, engineered mice, and tumoroids as models to investigate tumor biology and to identify therapies. The generalizability and power of a model derive from the fidelity with which it represents the tumor type under investigation; however, the extent to which this is true is often unclear. The preponderance of models and the ability to readily generate new ones has created a demand for tools that can measure the extent and ways in which cancer models resemble or diverge from native tumors.

METHODS

We developed a machine learning-based computational tool, CancerCellNet, that measures the similarity of cancer models to 22 naturally occurring tumor types and 36 subtypes, in a platform and species agnostic manner. We applied this tool to 657 cancer cell lines, 415 patient-derived xenografts, 26 distinct genetically engineered mouse models, and 131 tumoroids. We validated CancerCellNet by application to independent data, and we tested several predictions with immunofluorescence.

RESULTS

We have documented the cancer models with the greatest transcriptional fidelity to natural tumors, we have identified cancers underserved by adequate models, and we have found models with annotations that do not match their classification. By comparing models across modalities, we report that, on average, genetically engineered mice and tumoroids have higher transcriptional fidelity than patient-derived xenografts and cell lines in four out of five tumor types. However, several patient-derived xenografts and tumoroids have classification scores that are on par with native tumors, highlighting both their potential as faithful model classes and their heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS

CancerCellNet enables the rapid assessment of transcriptional fidelity of tumor models. We have made CancerCellNet available as a freely downloadable R package ( https://github.com/pcahan1/cancerCellNet ) and as a web application ( http://www.cahanlab.org/resources/cancerCellNet_web ) that can be applied to new cancer models that allows for direct comparison to the cancer models evaluated here.

Topography and Morphology of Gastric Cancer in Nigeria: A Dual Institution Review of 622 Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopies

Introduction

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. The burden of this disease is highest in developing countries of East Asia, Eastern Europe, and parts of Central and Southern America. Africa, despite having a similar high profile of Helicobacter pylori infection with East Asia, has a reported low prevalence of gastric cancer. There is a paucity of data on the natural history and endoscopic presentation of gastric cancer in West Africa.

Aim

To study the topography and morphology of gastric cancer from two institutions in Southern Nigeria.

Methods

A cross-sectional retrospective study of 622 consecutive cases of upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy performed in two referral endoscopy facilities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria from February 2012 to January 2021. Variables collated from centre records included age, sex, ethnicity, symptoms, site, endoscopic classification, and histology of gastric cancers. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).

Results

There were 17 (2.7%) cases of histologically confirmed gastric cancer. The age range of patients was from 34 years to 99 years (mean 60.7 ± 14.6 years). There were nine males and eight females (M:F ratio of 1.1:1). Antrum and cardia were predominantly affected in 10 (60.0%) and seven (6.7%) cases, respectively. Borrmann type 1 advanced gastric tumor was seen in seven (53.8%) and adenocarcinoma, the predominant histology, in 14 (82.4%) cases. Helicobacter pylori was detected in a sole case of gastric cancer.

Conclusion

Gastric cancer is uncommon in our environment and with a delayed presentation. A predominance of gastric antrum topography and exophytic growth morphology is the pattern.

Adjuvant tegafur-uracil (UFT) or S-1 monotherapy for advanced gastric cancer: a single center experience

Background

Adjuvant tegafur-gimeracil-oteracil (S-1) is commonly used for gastric cancer in Asia, and tegafur-uracil (UFT) is another oral fluoropyrimidine when S-1 is unavailable. The real-world data of adjuvant UFT has less been investigated.

Methods

Patients with pathological stage II-IIIB (except T1) gastric cancer receiving adjuvant UFT or S-1 monotherapy after D2 gastrectomy were included. Usage of UFT or S-1 was based on reimbursement policy of the Taiwanese healthcare system. The characteristics, chemotherapy completion rates, and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), were compared between these two groups.

Results

From 2005 to 2016, 86 eligible patients were included. Most tumor characteristics were similar between the UFT group (n = 37; age 59.1 ± 13.9 years) and S-1 group (n = 49; age 56.3 ± 10.7 years), except there were significantly more Borrmann type III/IV (86.5% versus 67.3%; p = 0.047) and T4 (56.8% versus 10.2%; p < 0.001) lesions in the UFT group than in the S-1 group. The chemotherapy complete rates were similar in the two groups. The 5-year RFS was 56.1% in the UFT group and 59.6% in the S-1 group (p = 0.71), and the 5-year OS was 78.3% in the UFT group and 73.1% in the S-1 group (p = 0.48). The hazard ratio of adjuvant chemotherapy (S-1 versus UFT) on RFS was 1.25 (95% confidence interval = 0.53-2.94) when Borrmann type and T and N stages were adjusted.

Conclusions

This small cohort study showed adjuvant UFT, and S-1 monotherapy had a comparable long-term outcome for pathological stage II-IIIB gastric cancer following D2 gastrectomy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12957-021-02233-2.

TP53 mutation and MET amplification in circulating tumor DNA analysis predict disease progression in patients with advanced gastric cancer

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease that encompasses various molecular subtypes. The molecular mutation characteristics of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in advanced gastric cancer (AGC), especially the clinical utility of TP53 mutation and MET amplification in ctDNA need to be further explored.

Objectives

The aim of this study was mainly to assess the clinical utility of TP53 mutation and MET amplification in ctDNA as biomarkers for monitoring disease progression of AGC.

Patients and Methods

We used multigene NGS-panel technology to study the characteristics of ctDNA gene mutations and screen the key mutant genes in AGC patients. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the survival probability and log-rank test was used to compare the survival curves of TP53 mutation and MET amplification in ctDNA of AGC patients. The survival time was set from the blood test time to the follow-up time to observe the relationship between the monitoring index and tumor prognosis.

Results

We performed mutation detection on ctDNA in 23 patients with AGC and identified the top 20 mutant genes. The five most frequently mutated genes were TP53 (55%), EGFR (20%), ERBB2 (20%), MET (15%) and APC (10%). TP53 was the most common mutated gene (55%) and MET had a higher frequency of mutations (15%) in our study. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with TP53 mutant in ctDNA had shorter overall survival (OS) than these with TP53 wild (P < 0.001). The Allele frequency (AF) of TP53 mutations in patient number 1 was higher in the second time (0.94%) than in the first time (0.36%); the AF of TP53 mutations in patient number 16 was from scratch (0∼0.26%). In addition, the AF of TP53 mutations in patients who survive was relatively low (P = 0.047). Simultaneously, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with MET amplification also had shorter OS than these with MET without amplification (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

TP53 and MET are the two common frequently mutant genes in ctDNA of AGC patients.TP53 mutation and MET amplification in ctDNA could predict disease progression of AGC patients.

Isolated brachioradialis metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma after R0 resection

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide, with an incidence of 6.72 per 100,000 people. Thirty-two percent of gastric cancer patients will live 5 years after diagnosis. Single-site metastasis is noted in 26% of patients with gastric cancer, most commonly in the liver (48%), peritoneum (32%), lung (15%), and bone (12%). Here, a case is presented in which a single skeletal muscle metastasis appeared after appropriate resection and treatment.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 63-year-old man underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a multivisceral en bloc R0 resection. Final pathology showed no evidence of lymph node metastasis with 31 negative lymph nodes. Four months postoperatively, the patient was found to have a rapidly growing biopsy-proven extremity soft tissue gastric metastasis within the brachioradialis muscle. He subsequently underwent metastasectomy and immunotherapy.

CONCLUSION

This case is a rare example of an isolated extremity metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma in the setting of an R0 resection of the primary tumor and negative nodal disease on final pathology, suggestive of hematogenous spread. We review the biology, workup, and management of gastric cancer and highlight new advancements in the treatment of this aggressive cancer.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the incidence of the associated malignant and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital: a retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND

H. pylori infection is associated with both benign and malignant gastrointestinal diseases. However, no studies have been conducted locally describing the prevalence of H. pylori and its associated GIT diseases. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of H. pylori, and the incidence of PUD and gastric malignancies among patients who are infected with H. pylori or who have the stigmata of previous exposure to H. pylori.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data was collected retrospectively from files of adult patients with upper gastro-intestinal symptoms from January to December, 2012. The gastric mucosal biopsy specimens were analyzed for the presence of H. pylori, chronic gastritis, PUD, and gastric malignancies.

RESULTS

Of 156 records there were 70 (45%) males and 86 (55%) females, with a median age of 56.5. The prevalence of H. pylori was 54.5%; 95% of 156 had chronic gastritis (CG). Ninety-sever percent of the 85 H. pylori positive and 93% of the 71 H. pylori negative patients had CG. However, the difference was not statistically significant (97% vs 93%, p = 0.322). The incidence of PUD was 16% and 10 (6.4%) had gastric malignancies, of which four (2.7%) and three (2%) were antral intestinal-type and proximal diffuse types, respectively. Three (2%) had gastric MALT lymphoma. The risk of both gastric malignancies and PUD was demonstrated to increase with advancing age.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The prevalence of H. pylori was equivalent to the global prevalence; however, high prevalence of CG may be indicative of high local infection rate. The incidence of H. pylori and/or chronic gastritis-associated intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma, MALT lymphoma, and PUD is equivalent to that reported globally. Advancing age and active H. pylori infection or stigmata of past exposure thereto are associated with increased risk of peptic ulcers and malignant gastric diseases.

Antioxidant-Rich Diet, GSTP1 rs1871042 Polymorphism, and Gastric Cancer Risk in a Hospital-Based Case-Control Study

Background

Chronic gastritis along with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been implicated in inflammatory response-related genes linked to the causation of gastric cancer. Glutathione S-transferase Pi (GSTP1) plays a role in regulating oxidative stress and detoxification against carcinogenesis. In this study, we aimed to determine whether an antioxidant-rich diet is associated with gastric cancer risk and identify how this association could be altered by GSTP1 genetic variants.

Methods

This study included 1,245 participants (415 cases and 830 controls) matched for age and sex. The dietary antioxidant capacity was estimated based on the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) incorporated with a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GSTP1 (rs1695, rs749174, rs1871042, rs4891, and rs947895) were selected among the exome array genotype data.

Results

High dietary ORAC was inversely associated with gastric cancer (hydrophilic ORAC OR _{T3vs. T1}, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.39–0.82, P = 0.004; lipophilic ORAC = 0.66, 0.45–0.95, P = 0.021; total phenolics = 0.57, 0.39–0.83, P = 0.005). The polymorphism rs1871042 increased the risk of gastric cancer (OR, 95% CI = 1.55, 1.10–2.16, P = 0.01, CT+TT vs. CC). A remarkably reduced risk of gastric cancer was observed among those who had a high dietary ORAC according to rs1871042 polymorphism (hydrophilic ORAC OR _{T3vs. T1}, 95% CI = 0.36, 0.17–0.78, P for trend = 0.013; lipophilic ORAC = 0.58, 0.37–0.93, P for trend = 0.021; total phenolics = 0.38, 0.17–0.83, P for trend = 0.019).

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that dietary ORAC intake may be inversely associated with the risk of gastric cancer altered by genetic variants of GSTP1, providing new intervention strategies for gastric cancer patients.

Preoperatively Treated Diffuse-Type Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Glucose vs. Other Energy Sources Substantially Influence Prognosis and Therapy Response

Simple Summary

The diffuse type of gastric adenocarcinoma (dGAC) generally confers a poor prognosis compared to intestinal type. Some dGACs are not avid on fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose PET (FDG-PET) while others seem to consume glucose avidly. We analyzed the outcomes based on the avidity of the primary on baseline FDG-PET. Our data suggest that if dGACs used glucose as an energy source then the prognosis was very poor while non-glucose sources improved prognosis. Multi-platform (including metabolomics) profiling of dGACs would yield useful biologic understanding.

Abstract

Diffuse type of gastric adenocarcinoma (dGAC) generally confers a poor prognosis compared to intestinal type. Some dGACs are not avid on fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose PET (FDG-PET) while others seem to consume glucose avidly. We analyzed the outcomes based on the avidity (high with standardized uptake value (SUV) > 3.5 or low with SUV ≤ 3.5) of the primary on baseline FDG-PET. We retrospectively selected 111 localized dGAC patients who had baseline FDG-PET (all were treated with preoperative chemotherapy and chemoradiation). FDG-PET avidity was compared with overall survival (OS) and response to therapy. The mean age was 59.4 years and with many females (47.7%). The high-SUV group (58 (52.3%) patients) and the low-SUV group (53 (47.7%) patients) were equally divided. While the median OS for all patients was 49.5 months (95% CI: 38.5–98.8 months), it was 98.0 months (95% CI: 49.5–NE months) for the low-SUV group and 36.0 months for the high-SUV (p = 0.003). While the median DFS for all patients was 38.2 months (95% CI: 27.7–97.6 months), it was 98.0 (95% CI: 36.9–NE months) months for the low-SUV group was and only 27.0 months (95% CI: 15.2–63.2 months) for the high-SUV group (p = 0.005). Clinical responses before surgery were more common in the low-SUV group but overall we observed only 4 pathologic complete responses in 111 patients. Our unique data suggest that if dGACs used glucose as an energy source then the prognosis was very poor while non-glucose sources improved prognosis. Multi-platform (including metabolomics) profiling of dGACs would yield useful biologic understanding.

Clinicopathologic Features of Submucosal Papillary Gastric Cancer Differ from Those of Other Differentiated-Type Histologies

Background/Aims

Papillary gastric cancer (GC) is classified as differentiated adenocarcinoma, together with well-differentiated (WD) and moderately differentiated (MD) adenocarcinoma. This study evaluated the risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in submucosal (SM) invasive papillary GC compared with other differentiated early GC types.

Methods

This retrospective study involved three tertiary hospitals and enrolled 1,798 lesions with differentiated SM invasive GC treated with curative gastrectomy between March 2001 and December 2012. All pathology slides were reviewed, and clinicopathologic findings associated with LNM, including tumor size, location, gross type, ulceration, depth and width of SM invasion, and lymphovascular invasion (LVI), were analyzed.

Results

The proportion of SM papillary GC was 2.8% (n=51). SM papillary GC was associated with larger tumor size and deeper and wider SM invasion than other differentiated GC types. LNM was significantly higher in the papillary type than in the MD and WD types. LNM was found in 27.5% of SM papillary GC patients (WD 9.0%, MD 21.2%). LVI was the only significant risk factor for LNM in SM papillary GC. The depth or width of SM invasion was not associated with LNM in papillary GC. Lower third location or elevated gross appearance was significantly associated with LVI.

Conclusions

SM papillary GC had the highest LNM rate, with features different from those of other differentiated SM invasive GCs. The treatment strategy for SM papillary GC should be carefully approached, especially for lesions located in the lower third or of the elevated gross type.

Meta-Analysis Reveals the Prognostic Relevance of Nuclear and Membrane-Associated Bile Acid Receptors in Gastric Cancer

INTRODUCTION

Bile acids (BAs) arising from duodenogastric reflux are known to facilitate gastric cancer (GC) development. Although BAs traditionally contribute to carcinogenesis through direct cellular cytotoxicity, increasing evidence implicates nuclear and membrane BA receptors (BARs) as additional factors influencing cancer risk. Indeed, some BARs are already linked with GC, but conflicting evidence and lack of information regarding other endogenous BARs warrant further investigation. In this study, we meta-analyzed multiple data sets to identify clinically relevant relationships between BAR expression and prognosis, clinicopathology, and activity in GC.

METHODS

We collected transcriptomic data from the Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas to analyze associations between BAR expression and GC prognosis, subtype, and clinicopathology. We also used Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to assess and predict functions, upstream regulators, and downstream mediators of membrane and nuclear BARs in GC.

RESULTS

BARs showed differential distribution in GC; membrane BARs (G protein-coupled BAR 1, sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2, and cholinergic receptor muscarinic 2) were enriched in diffuse-, genome-stable, and mesenchymal-type tumors, whereas nuclear BARs (pregnane-X-receptor, constitutive androstane receptor, and farnesoid-X-receptor) were enriched in chromosome instability and metabolic subtypes. High expression of all membrane but not nuclear BARs was associated with poor prognosis and unfavorable GC clinicopathologic features. Similarly, expression patterns of membrane but not nuclear BARs varied geographically, aligning with Helicobacter pylori infection and GC mortality rates. Finally, GC-related oncogenes, namely transforming growth factor β1, were associated with membrane BARs, whereas many metabolic-associated genes were associated with nuclear BARs.

DISCUSSION

Through transcriptomic meta-analysis, we identified distinct expression profiles between nuclear and membrane BARs that demonstrate prognostic relevance and warrant further investigation.

microRNAs Promoting Growth of Gastric Cancer Xenografts and Correlation to Clinical Prognosis

The annual death toll for gastric cancer is in the range of 700,000 worldwide. Even in patients with early-stage gastric cancer recurrence within five years has been observed after surgical resection and following chemotherapy with therapy-resistant features. Therefore, the identification of new targets and treatment modalities for gastric cancer is of paramount importance. In this review we focus on the role of microRNAs with documented efficacy in preclinical xenograft models with respect to growth of human gastric cancer cells. We have identified 31 miRs (-10b, -19a, -19b, -20a, -23a/b, -25, -27a-3p, -92a, -93, -100, -106a, -130a, -135a, -135b-5p, -151-5p, -187, -199-3p, -215, -221-3p, -224, -340a, -382, -421, -425, -487a, -493, -532-3p, -575, -589, -664a-3p) covering 26 different targets which promote growth of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo as xenografts. Five miRs (miRs -10b, 151-5p, -187, 532-3p and -589) additionally have an impact on metastasis. Thirteen of the identified miRs (-19b, -20a/b, -25, -92a, -106a, -135a, -187, -221-3p, -340a, -421, -493, -575 and -589) have clinical impact on worse prognosis in patients.

Polymorphisms in Pepsinogen C and miRNA Genes Associate with High Serum Pepsinogen II in Gastric Cancer Patients

Background: Pepsinogen (PG) II (PGII) is a serological marker used to estimate the risk of gastric cancer but how PGII expression is regulated is largely unknown. It has been suggested that PGII expression, from the PGC (Progastricsin) gene, is regulated by microRNAs (miRNA), but how PGII levels vary with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and miRNAs genotype remains unclear. Methods: Serum levels of PGI and PGII were determined in 80 patients with gastric cancer and persons at risk for gastric cancer (74 first-degree relatives of patients, 62 patients with autoimmune chronic atrophic gastritis, and 2 patients with dysplasia), with and without H. pylori infection. As control from the general population, 52 blood donors were added to the analyses. Associations between PGII levels and genetic variants in PGC and miRNA genes in these groups were explored based on H. pylori seropositivity and the risk for gastric cancer. The two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and the NanoString analysis of messenger RNA (mRNAs) from gastric cancer tissue were used to determine the pathways associated with increased PGII levels. Results: PGII levels were significantly higher in patients with gastric cancer, and in those with H. pylori infection, than in other patients or controls. A PGI/PGII ratio ≤ 3 was found better than PGI < 25 ng/mL to identify patients with gastric cancer (15.0% vs. 8.8%). For two genetic variants, namely rs8111742 in miR-Let-7e and rs121224 in miR-365b, there were significant differences in PGII levels between genotype groups among patients with gastric cancer (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively), but not among other study subjects. Moreover, a strict relation between rs9471643 C-allele with H. pylori infection and gastric cancer was underlined. Fold change in gene expression of mRNA isolated from gastric cancer tissue correlated well with polymorphism, H. pylori infection, increased PGII level, and pathway for bacteria cell entry into the host. Conclusions: Serum PGII levels depend in part on an interaction between H. pylori and host miRNA genotypes, which may interfere with the cut-off of PGI/PGII ratio used to identify persons at risk of gastric cancer. Results reported new findings regarding the relation among H. pylori, PGII-related host polymorphism, and genes involved in this interaction in the gastric cancer setting.

Treatment at an Academic Cancer Center Confers Better Survival by Stage for Signet-Ring Cell and Non-signet-Ring Cell Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

The literature lacks large-scale population studies comparing survival outcomes between signet-ring cell gastric carcinoma (SRGC) and non-SRGC (NSRGC) when treatment is delivered at academic versus community cancer centers.

METHODS

The National Cancer Database (NCDB) from 2004 to 2016 was queried to examine the association between treatment facility category and overall survival of patients who underwent gastrectomy for resectable gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC).

RESULTS

The study investigated 22,871 patients. Upstaging of resectable GAC to pathologic stage 4 was more evident at community centers (3.5%) than at academic centers (2.8%) for the NSRGC variant (p = 0.211), whereas it was comparable between the two facility categories for the SRGC variant (5.9% vs 6%, respectively). Patients with pathologic stage 1 or 3 NSRGC who underwent gastrectomy at academic programs had better overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.68; p < 0.0001) than those who underwent gastrectomy at community centers (HR, 0.79; p < 0.0065). Similarly, patients with stage 2 SRGC had better OS when treated at academic versus community centers (HR, 0.54; p = 0.0019). No statistically significant improvement in OS was observed between patients with stage 2 NSRGC (HR, 0.84; p = 0.083) and those with stage 3 SRGC (HR, 0.78; p = 0.054) who were treated at academic centers. No survival benefit was demonstrated for stage 1 SRGC when academic and community centers were compared (p = 0.56).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study based on a large-scale database in the Western population that addressed the overall survival-by-stage of two distinct GAC histologic variants. Treatment at academic centers was associated with significant improvements in OS.

Proposal for a clinicopathological prognostic score for resected gastric cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Factors other than pTNM stage have been associated with gastric cancer (GC) prognosis, and several alternative prognostic scores have been constructed. Our aims are to identify prognostic factors in western GC patients and to build clinicopathological prognostic models for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

METHODS

A Retrospective study of 204 cases of GC resected during the years 2000 to 2014 was conducted in our hospital. Clinicopathological features were assessed, univariate and multivariate analysis were performed and prognostic scores were constructed.

RESULTS

Most patients were diagnosed at pTNM stages II and III (36.9% and 48.1%, respectively). According to Laurén classification, tumors were intestinal (55.8%), diffuse (35.2%) and mixed (9%). During follow-up, 43.5% of patients had tumor recurrence, and 28.6% died due to tumor. Univariate analysis showed that patient age, Laurén subtype, signet-ring cell morphology, pTNM stage, tumor grade, perineural invasion, growth pattern, intratumoral inflammation, adjuvant therapy, and desmoplasia were significantly related to tumor progression or death. Multivariate analysis showed that Laurén subtype, pT stage, and lymph node ratio (LNR) were significantly and independently associated with GC recurrence. Laurén subtype and LNR were significantly related to patient survival. Prognostic scores for tumor progression and death were developed and patients were classified into four prognostic groups which showed good prognostic performance.

CONCLUSION

A prognostic model comprising histological features such as Laurén subtype can be easily applied in clinical practice, and provides more prognostic information than pTNM stage alone. These models can further stratify resected GC patients and have the potential to aid in the individualization of patient management.

Gastric cancer: a comprehensive review of current and future treatment strategies

Gastric cancer remains a major unmet clinical problem with over 1 million new cases worldwide. It is the fourth most commonly occurring cancer in men and the seventh most commonly occurring cancer in women. A major fraction of gastric cancer has been linked to variety of pathogenic infections including but not limited to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) or Epstein Barr virus (EBV). Strategies are being pursued to prevent gastric cancer development such as H. pylori eradication, which has helped to prevent significant proportion of gastric cancer. Today, treatments have helped to manage this disease and the 5-year survival for stage IA and IB tumors treated with surgery are between 60 and 80%. However, patients with stage III tumors undergoing surgery have a dismal 5-year survival rate between 18 and 50% depending on the dataset. These figures indicate the need for more effective molecularly driven treatment strategies. This review discusses the molecular profile of gastric tumors, the success, and challenges with available therapeutic targets along with newer biomarkers and emerging targets.