Prognostic relevance of demographics and surgical practice for patients with gastric cancer in two centers: in Poland versus Germany

Geographic variation in surgical practice patterns and outcomes for resected nonmetastatic gastric cancer in Ontario

Background

Gastrectomy with negative resection margins and adequate lymph node dissection is the cornerstone of curative treatment for gastric cancer (gc). However, gastrectomy is a complex and invasive operation with significant morbidity and mortality. Little is known about surgical practice patterns or short- and long-term outcomes in early-stage gc in Canada.

Methods

We undertook a population-based retrospective cohort study of patients with gc diagnosed between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2008. Chart review provided clinical and operative details such as disease stage, primary tumour location, surgical approach, operation, lymph nodes, and resection margins. Administrative data provided patient demographics, geography, and vital status. Variations in treatment and outcomes were compared for 14 local health integration networks. Descriptive statistics and log-rank tests were used to examine geographic variation.

Results

We identified 722 patients with nonmetastatic resected gc. We documented significant provincial variation in case mix, including primary tumour location, stage at diagnosis, and tumour grade. Short-term surgical outcomes varied across the province. The percentage of patients with 15 or fewer lymph nodes removed and examined varied from 41.8% to 73.8% (p = 0.02), and the rate of positive surgical margins ranged from 15.2% to 50.0% (p = 0.002). The 30-day surgical mortality rates did not vary statistically significantly across the province (p = 0.13); however, rates ranged from 0% to 16.7%. Overall 5-year survival was 44% and ranged from 31% to 55% across the province.

Conclusions

This cohort of patients with resected stages i-iii gc is the largest analyzed in Canada, providing important historical information about treatment outcomes. Understanding the causes of regional variation will support interventions aiming to improve gc operative outcomes in the cancer system.

Multistage resection of esophageal squamous cell cancer of the cardia - successful despite complications

Surgery is the treatment of choice for squamous cell esophageal cancer. Complete resection of the esophagus with reconstruction of the digestive tract is performed for tumors located in the chest or cardia. The aim of the report is to present the case of a complete esophageal and gastric resection complicated by colon graft necrosis. The patient was a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with cancer of the cardia infiltrating the distal section of the esophagus and the body and fundus of the stomach. The initial surgical procedure included the opening of three body cavities followed by resection of the thoracic esophagus, stomach, and a portion of the left hepatic lobe. Right colon interposition was performed to restore digestive tract continuity. On the 8th day, a leak was observed in the esophagointestinal anastomosis. Management consisted in two surgical procedures, one of which ended in the removal of the colon patch. The fourth and final procedure was conducted after 10 months.

Concomitant surgical treatment of a chondrosarcoma of the chest wall and a desmoid tumor of the gastrointestinal tract

The co-existence of a chondrosarcoma of the chest wall and a desmoid tumor in the gastrointestinal tract is rare. In both Polish and global literature, cases of chest wall chondrosarcomas are presented in the form of case reports. Desmoids of the gastrointestinal tract are more common; notwithstanding, their incidence in Europe is estimated at approximately 2 cases per 1 million inhabitants per year.

We present the case of a 62-year-old female patient who suffered from both a chest wall chondrosarcoma and a desmoid tumor of the intestine; both neoplasms were operated on simultaneously.

The former tumor was located in the region of the right costal margin, whereas the latter was located in the mesojejunum. The surgery was performed with two independent surgical incisions. The postoperative period was uneventful. The case is noteworthy in view of the extremely rare synchronous occurrence of the described tumors and due to the fact that any such operation requires an individualized surgical approach.

[Spectrum of laparoscopic surgery for gastric tumors]

Minimally invasive operative procedures are increasingly being used for treating tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract. While minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has become established as a standard procedure for benign tumors and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) based on current studies, the significance of MIS in the field of gastric cancer is the topic of heated debate. Until now the majority of studies and meta-analyses on gastric cancer have come from Asia and these indicate the advantages of MIS in terms of intraoperative blood loss, minor surgical complications and swifter convalescence although without any benefits in terms of long-term oncological results and quality of life. Unlike in Germany, gastric cancer in Asia with its unchanged high incidence rate, 50 % frequency of early carcinoma and predominantly distal tumor localization is treated at high-volume centres. Due to the proven marginal advantages of MIS over open resection described in the published studies no general recommendation for laparoscopic surgery of gastric cancer can currently be given.

Surgical treatment of gastric cancer in a community hospital in Brazil: who are we treating and how?

PURPOSE

Surgical treatment of gastric cancer has risks, and the current trend in developed countries is to centralize cases in high-volume centers. Many countries, however, particularly the developing ones, have to rely in low-volume centers for the most part of gastric cancer operations. We aimed to verify the characteristics of the patients and tumors as well as the in-hospital outcomes in a community hospital in Brazil treating gastric cancer.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study on patients undergoing surgical treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma at a community hospital in Brazil. The authors reviewed demographic, clinical, pathological, and perioperative data.

RESULTS

A total of 28 patients were operated on during the study period. Mean age was 69.5 years, 53.6% were male, 67.9% had anemia, 78.5% had ASA score ≥ 3, 89.3% were at nutritional risk, intestinal/diffuse ratio was 1.6, 68.5% had tumor ≥ 6 cm, involvement of lower/middle third of the stomach occurred in 96.4%, 73.7% had serosal invasion, 79% had stage III disease, median number of dissected nodes was 23, median operative time was 255 min, 21.4% had urgent procedures, 67.8% had curative surgery, 50% had distal gastrectomy, 43.5% had a Billroth I, median length of stay was 17 days, 53.6% had some admission to the intensive care unit, 21.4% required relaparotomy, 25% had wound infection/dehiscence, and mortality was 66.7/18.2% (urgent/non-urgent surgery).

CONCLUSION

We treat elderly malnourished patients with multiple comorbidities and advanced cancer. Improvement is required in lymph node dissection, non-surgical therapies, and critical care.