Noncurative gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma should only be performed in highly selected patients

Identification of optimal primary tumor resection candidates for metastatic gastric cancer: Nomograms based on propensity score matching

BACKGROUND

This study sought to develop and validate nomograms for screening patients with metastatic gastric cancer (mGC) who are candidates for primary tumor resection (PTR) and evaluating the prognosis of mGC patients after PTR.

METHODS

From 2010 to 2016, we screened mGC patients with complete data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Depending on whether or not PTR was performed, we categorized patients into surgery and non-surgery groups. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to balance the characteristics of the two groups. The endpoints were overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Two predictive nomograms were developed using logistic regression to assess the likelihood of benefit. Two additional prognostic nomograms were developed to assess prognosis in mGC patients after PTR by Cox regression. Finally, nomograms were evaluated using a variety of methodologies.

RESULTS

Our study included 3594 mGC patients who met the criteria. PTR was associated with improved OS and CSS time (median OS time after PSM: 15 vs. 7 months, P < 0.05; median CSS time after PSM: 17 vs. 7 months, P < 0.05). The OS-related predictive nomogram, including age, histologic type, grade, T stage, and chemotherapy, was developed. Moreover, the CSS-related predictive nomogram, including age, histologic type, grade, and chemotherapy, was developed. Sex, histologic type, grade, T stage, N stage, and chemotherapy were found to be correlated with OS. Furthermore, the CSS correlated with histologic type, grade, T stage, N stage, and chemotherapy. Both predictive and prognostic nomograms were found to be valuable and reliable after different types of validation.

CONCLUSION

Predictive nomograms were developed and validated for identifying the optimal PTR mGC candidates. Prognostic nomograms were developed and validated for assessing the prognosis of mGC patients after PTR.

Survival outcomes of management in metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma patients

Chemotherapy is generally considered as the main treatment for metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. The role of gastrectomy for metastatic gastric cancer without obvious symptoms is controversial. The objective of this study is to investigate survival outcomes of treatment modalities using a real-world data setting. A retrospective cohort study was designed using the Taiwan Cancer Registry database. We identified the treatment modalities and used Kaplan–Meier estimates and Cox regressions to compare patient survival outcomes. From 2008 to 2015, 5599 gastric adenocarcinoma patients were diagnosed with metastatic disease (M1). The median overall survival (OS) of patients with surgery plus chemotherapy had the longest survival of 14.2 months. The median OS of the patients who received chemotherapy alone or surgery alone was 7.0 and 3.9, respectively. Age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, tumor grade, and treatment modalities are prognostic factors for survival. The hazard ratios for patients who received surgery plus chemotherapy, surgery alone, and supportive care were 0.47 (95% CI 0.44–0.51), 1.22 (95% CI 1.1–1.36), and 3.23 (95% CI 3.01–3.46), respectively, by multivariable Cox regression analysis when using chemotherapy alone as a referent. Chemotherapy plus surgery may have a survival benefit for some selected gastric adenocarcinoma patients with metastatic disease.

Jejunostomy in the palliative treatment of gastric cancer: A clinical prognostic score

BACKGROUND

Clinical stage IV gastric cancer (GC) may need palliative procedures in the presence of symptoms such as obstruction. When palliative resection is not possible, jejunostomy is one of the options. However, the limited survival of these patients raises doubts about who benefits from this procedure.

AIM

To create a prognostic score based on clinical variables for 90-d mortality for GC patients after palliative jejunostomy.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of Stage IV GC who underwent jejunostomy. Eleven preoperative clinical variables were selected to define the score categories, with 90-d mortality as the main outcome. After randomization, patients were divided equally into two groups: Development (J1) and validation (J2). The following variables were used: Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (ASA), Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI), hemoglobin levels, albumin levels, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), tumor size, presence of ascites by computed tomography (CT), and the number of disease sites. The score performance metric was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) to define low and high-risk groups.

RESULTS

Of the 363 patients with clinical stage IVCG, 80 (22%) patients underwent jejunostomy. Patients were predominantly male (62.5%) with a mean age of 62.4 years old. After randomization, the binary logistic regression analysis was performed and points were assigned to the clinical variables to build the score. The high NLR had the highest value. The ROC curve derived from these pooled parameters had an AUC of 0.712 (95%CI: 0.537-0.887, P = 0.022) to define risk groups. In the validation cohort, the diagnostic accuracy for 90-d mortality based on the score had an AUC of 0.756, (95%CI: 0.598-0.915, P = 0.006). According to the cutoff, in the validation cohort BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2 (P < 0.001), CCI ≥ 1 (P = 0.001), ASA III/IV (P = 0.002), high NLR (P = 0.012), and the presence of ascites on CT exam (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with the high-risk group. The risk groups showed a significant association with first-line (P = 0.012), second-line chemotherapy (P = 0.009), 30-d (P = 0.013), and 90-d mortality (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The scoring system developed with 11 variables related to patient's performance status and medical condition was able to distinguish patients undergoing jejunostomy with high risk of 90 d mortality.

Efficacy of Surgery for the Treatment of Gastric Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis of Prognostic Factors

BACKGROUND

In the last 10 years, the management of patients with gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) has changed from chemotherapy alone, towards a multidisciplinary treatment with liver surgery playing a leading role. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy of hepatectomy for GCLM and to analyze the impact of related prognostic factors on long-term outcomes.

METHODS

The databases PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles from January 2010 to September 2020. We included prospective and retrospective studies that reported the outcomes after hepatectomy for GCLM. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of prognostic factors was performed.

RESULTS

We included 40 studies, including 1573 participants who underwent hepatic resection for GCLM. Post-operative morbidity and 30-day mortality rates were 24.7% and 1.6%, respectively. One-year, 3-years, and 5-years overall survival (OS) were 72%, 37%, and 26%, respectively. The 1-year, 3-years, and 5-years disease-free survival (DFS) were 44%, 24%, and 22%, respectively. Well-moderately differentiated tumors, pT1-2 and pN0-1 adenocarcinoma, R0 resection, the presence of solitary metastasis, unilobar metastases, metachronous metastasis, and chemotherapy were all strongly positively associated to better OS and DFS.

CONCLUSION

In the present study, we demonstrated that hepatectomy for GCLM is feasible and provides benefits in terms of long-term survival. Identification of patient subgroups that could benefit from surgical treatment is mandatory in a multidisciplinary setting.

Palliative care for advanced gastric cancer

INTRODUCTION

Proactive palliative care can effectively relieve symptoms early and effectively as well as improve the quality of life of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC).

AREAS COVERED

The review summarizes palliative care for GAC. GAC caused specific symptoms, such as malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), bleeding, weight loss, and/or ascites, therefore, these symptoms must be addressed specifically.

EXPERT OPINION

Palliative care should start early to control general symptoms, thus may improve the patient's condition to make the patient eligible for anti-cancer treatment. As some stage IV GAC patients can now live longer, palliative interventions become more important. A multimodality interdisciplinary approach is strongly encouraged.

Conversion Surgery for Unresectable Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

For patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer, induction chemotherapy could down-stage primary tumors, resulting in conversion surgery becoming possible. However, the feasibility and therapeutic benefit of conversion surgery remains controversial. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to systematically review and investigate the efficacy of conversion surgery followed by chemotherapy for unresectable AGC.

Outcomes of Non-curative Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: An Analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP)

BACKGROUND

The surgical care of patients with metastatic gastric cancer (GC) remains debated. Despite level 1 evidence showing lack of survival benefit, surgery may be used for symptoms prevention or palliation. This study examined short-term postoperative outcomes of non-curative gastrectomy performed for metastatic GC.

METHODS

A multi-institutional retrospective cohort study was conducted using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) registry, including gastrectomies for GC (2007-2015). The primary outcome was 30-day major morbidity. Multivariable analysis examined the association between metastatic status and outcomes adjusted for relevant demographic and clinical covariates.

RESULTS

Of 5341 patients, 377 (7.1%) had metastases. Major morbidity was more common with metastases (29.4 vs. 19.6%; p < 0.001), driven by a higher rate of respiratory events. Prolonged hospital length of stay (beyond the 75th percentile: 11 days) was more likely with metastases than with no metastases (41.9 vs. 28.3%; p < 0.001). After adjustment, metastatic status was associated with major morbidity (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.90). This association remained for respiratory events (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.07-2.33), 30-day mortality (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.38-3.48), and prolonged hospital stay (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.31-2.07).

CONCLUSION

Non-curative gastrectomy for metastatic GC was associated with significant major morbidity and mortality as well as a prolonged hospital stay, longer than expected for gastrectomy for non-metastatic GC. These data can inform decision making regarding non-curative gastrectomy, helping surgeons to weigh the risks of morbidity against the potential benefits and alternative therapeutic options.

The Role of Surgical Resection for Stage IV Gastric Cancer With Synchronous Hepatic Metastasis

BACKGROUND

With improved responses to chemotherapy and targeted treatments, the role of surgery in metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) to the liver needs to be revisited. We sought to examine whether surgical resection is associated with improvement of long-term survival.

METHODS

The National Cancer Database was queried for MGC to the liver (2010-2014). Survival analysis was performed to compare the effect of gastrectomy and perioperative chemotherapy (G-CT) to palliative chemotherapy (PCT) alone.

RESULTS

We identified 3175 patients with MGC to the liver. Most patients (94%, n = 2979) were treated with PCT, whereas 6% (n = 196 patients) underwent G-CT. Overall survival improved in patients treated with G-CT compared to PCT alone (16 versus 9.7 mo, P < 0.001). In patients undergoing G-CT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with increased overall survival compared to adjuvant chemotherapy (18.9 versus 14.8 mo, P = 0.011). Hazards of death significantly decreased with gastrectomy (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-0.63, P < 0.001). Negative prognostic factors included advanced age (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.06-1.14, P < 0.001), treatment at nonacademic institution (HR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.13-1.33, P < 0.001), and poorly differentiated grade (HR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.17-2.03, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

G-CT is associated with improved survival in patients with gastric cancer and synchronous liver metastasis. Further experience with well-designed prospective trials may be warranted to confirm these findings.

Influence of Surgical Resection of Hepatic Metastases From Gastric Adenocarcinoma on Long-term Survival: Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this systematic review and pooled analysis were to examine long-term survival, morbidity, and mortality following surgical resection of gastric cancer hepatic metastases and to identify prognostic factors that improve survival.

BACKGROUND

Patients with hepatic metastases from gastric cancer are traditionally treated with palliative chemotherapy.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was undertaken (1990 to 2015). Publications were included if they studied more than 10 patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatic metastasis from gastric adenocarcinoma in the absence of peritoneal disease or other distant organ involvement. The primary outcome was the hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival. The influence of liver metastasis related factors; multiple vs single and metachronous vs synchronous upon survival was also assessed.

RESULTS

The median number of resections for the 39 studies included was 21 (range 10 to 64). Procedures were associated with a median 30-day morbidity of 24% (0% to 47%) and mortality of 0% (0% to 30%). The median 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival were 68%, 31%, and 27%, respectively. Survival was improved in Far Eastern compared with Western studies; 1-year (73% vs 59%), 3-year (34% vs 24.5%), and 5-year (27.3% vs 16.5%). Surgical resection of hepatic metastases was associated with a significantly improved overall survival (HR = 0.50; P < 0.001). Meta-analysis confirmed the additional survival benefit of solitary compared with multiple hepatic metastases (odds ratio = 0.31; P = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

The observed improved survival rates following the resection of hepatic metastasis from gastric adenocarcinoma in selected patients merit a prospective study to formally address the survival benefits and the influence on quality of life of such approach.

Surgical Considerations in the Management of Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Since Theodor Billroth and César Roux perfected the methods of postgastrectomy reconstruction in as early as the late nineteenth century, surgical management of gastric cancer has made incremental progress. The longstanding and contentious debate on the optimal extent of lymph node dissection for gastric cancer seems to have settled in favor of D2 dissection. Pylorus-preserving distal (central) gastrectomy has emerged as a less invasive, function-preserving option for T1N0 middle-third gastric cancers. Frozen section analysis of margins seems partially helpful in this direction. Last, the role of palliative gastrectomy in patients with metastatic seems less important than initially thought.

Hepatectomy for liver metastases from gastric cancer: a systematic review

Background

Official guidelines recommend palliative treatments for patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer. However, many case series reported that hepatectomy for such cases is safe and effective. This systematic review compares the overall survival between hepatectomy and palliative therapy in patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer.

Methods

Two independent reviewers performed a systematic search of literature in EMBASE and PubMed, updated until 26 October 2016. The Newcastle-Ottawa score for cohort studies was used for quality assessment of included studies.

Results

A total of eight cohort studies involving 196 patients in the hepatectomy arm and 481 in the palliative arm were included. Median overall survival of patients in the two arms was 23.7 (range, 13.0 to 48.0) and 7.6 (range, 5.5 to 15.2), respectively. Median rates of overall survival of the two arms were 69, 40, 33 and 27, 8, 4% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Comparing with palliative therapy, hepatectomy was associated with significantly lower mortality at 1 year (odds ratio 0.17, P < 0.001) and 2 years (odds ratio 0.15, P < 0.001). Among the patients who underwent hepatectomy, Asian cohorts showed higher median rates of overall survival than Western cohorts at 1 year (76 vs. 60%), 2 years (47 vs. 30%) and 3 years (39 vs. 23%).

Conclusions

Hepatectomy in the management of liver metastases from gastric cancer can be considered effective. In the elective setting, hepatectomy provides a potential alternative to palliative therapy.

Is noncurative gastrectomy always a beneficial strategy for stage IV gastric cancer?

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to suggest a treatment strategy for stage IV gastric cancer by investigating the behavioral difference between initially and recurrent metastatic disease.

Methods

We reviewed the medical records of the patients who underwent chemotherapy alone for metastatic gastric cancer between January 2006 and September 2013. Patients were divided into those who underwent chemotherapy for metastatic disease since initial diagnosis (IM group) and for metastatic recurrence after curative surgery (RM group). Survival and causes of death were compared between the 2 groups, and significant prognostic factors were also investigated.

Results

A total of 170 patients were enrolled in this study. Of these patients, 104 were included in the IM group and 66 in the RM group. Overall survival of the IM group did not differ from that of RM (P = 0.569). In the comparison of the causes of death, the IM group had a greater tendency to die from bleeding (P = 0.054) and pneumonia (P = 0.055). In multivariate analysis, bone metastasis (P < 0.001; HR = 2.847), carcinoma peritonei (P = 0.047; HR = 1.766), and the frequency of chemotherapy (P < 0.001; HR = 0.777) were significantly associated with overall survival of IM group.

Conclusion

Disease-burden mainly contributes to the prognosis of metastatic gastric cancer, although noncurative gastrectomy may be helpful in reducing the mortality of initially metastatic disease. Therefore, disease-burden should be also prioritized in determining the treatment strategies for stage IV gastric cancer.

Palliative Gastrectomy Prolongs Survival of Metastatic Gastric Cancer Patients with Normal Preoperative CEA or CA19-9 Values: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background. Palliative gastrectomy has been suggested to improve survival of patients with metastatic gastric cancer, but limitations in study design and availability of robust prognostic factors have cast doubt on the overall merit of this procedure. Methods. The characteristics and clinical outcomes of 173 patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed to determine the value of palliative gastrectomy and to identify potential prognostic factors. Results. Median overall patient survival was 6.5 months. To attenuate potential selection bias, patients with adequate performance and survival time of ≥ 2 months since diagnosis were included for risk factor analysis (n = 137). The median overall survival was longer for patients who were younger than 60 years, had better performance status (8.7 versus 6.4 months, P = 0.015), received systemic chemotherapy, or had palliative gastrectomy in univariate analyses. Gastrectomy (P = 0.002) remained statistically significant in multivariate analyses. Subgroup analysis showed that patients aged < 60 years, CEA < 5 ng/mL or CA19-9 < 35 U/mL, obtained a survival advantage from palliative gastrectomy. In fact, palliative gastrectomy doubled overall survival for patients who had normal CEA and/or normal CA19-9. Conclusions. Palliative gastrectomy prolongs the survival of metastatic gastric cancer patients with normal CEA and/or CA19-9 level at the time of diagnosis.

Systematic review of partial hepatic resection to treat hepatic metastases in patients with gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

To examine overall survival and mortality following hepatic resection in patients with hepatic metastases from gastric cancer.

METHODS

EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for publications involving more than 10 patients who underwent hepatic resection to treat hepatic metastases from gastric cancer and who did not have peritoneal disease or involvement of other distant organs.

RESULTS

A total of 39 studies were included, involving a median of 21 hepatic resections (range, 10-64). Resection was associated with median 30-day morbidity of 24% (range, 0%-47%) and 30-day mortality of 0% (range, 0%-30%). Median overall survival was 68% at 1 year, 31% at 3 years, and 27% at 5 years. Asian studies reported higher rates than Western studies for overall survival at 1 year (73% vs 59%), 3 years (34% vs 25%), and 5 years (27% vs 17%). Compared with palliative treatment, resection was associated with significantly lower mortality at 1 year (risk ratio [RR] 0.47, P < 0.001) and 2 years (RR 0.70, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with hepatic metastases from gastric cancer may benefit from hepatic resection in case of good physical condition, absence of peritoneal dialysis, and optimum liver function with single metastases. More trials are needed to confirm this finding.

Primary Tumor Resection and Survival in Patients with Stage IV Gastric Cancer

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine whether surgical resection of the primary tumor contributes to survival in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

Materials and Methods

A total of 288 patients with metastatic gastric cancer from the Akdeniz University, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, and the Meram University of Konya database were retrospectively analyzed. The effect of primary tumor resection on survival of patients with metastatic gastric cancer was investigated using the log-rank test. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were calculated. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression modeling.

Results

The median overall survival was 12.0 months (95% confidence intewrval [CI], 10.4~13.6 months) and 7.8 months (95% CI, 5.5~10.0 months) for patients with and without primary tumor resection, respectively (P<0.001). The median progression-free survival was 8.3 months (95% CI, 7.1~9.5 months) and 6.2 months (95% CI, 5.8~6.7 months) for patients with and without primary tumor resection, respectively (P=0.002).

Conclusions

Non-curative gastrectomy in patients with metastatic gastric cancer might increase their survival rate regardless of the occurrence of life-threatening tumor-related complications.

Cost-effectiveness of palliative surgery versus nonsurgical procedures in gastrointestinal cancer patients

Palliative care is an essential component to multidisciplinary cancer care. Improved symptom control, quality of life (QOL), and survival have resulted from its utilization. Cost-effectiveness and utility analyses are significant variables that should be considered in comparing benefits and costs of medical interventions to determine if certain treatments are economically justified. This is a review on the cost-effectiveness of palliative surgery compared to other nonsurgical palliative procedures in patients with unresectable gastrointestinal cancers. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:316-322. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The impact and optimal indication of non-curative gastric resection for stage IV advanced gastric cancer diagnosed during surgery: 10 years of experience at a single institute

Background

The survival benefit of non-curative gastric resection for patients with stage IV gastric cancer is still unclear.

Methods

Of the patients who underwent open abdominal surgery that was preoperatively intended to be a radical excision procedure for gastric cancer, 72 were diagnosed with stage IV during the operation. At this institution, non-curative gastric resection is performed whenever possible.

Results

Non-curative gastric resection was performed in 44 of the 72 patients. According to the survival analysis, the median survival times in the gastric resection and no-resection groups were 1.9 and 0.9 years, respectively (log-rank test, p = 0.014). Based on the multivariate analysis, we selected gastric resection (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.309; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.152–0.615) and postoperative chemotherapy (HR = 0.136; 95 % CI = 0.056–0.353) as independent factors associated with overall survival (OS). In the subgroup analyses of OS, the factors that were associated with gastric resection having no survival benefit were the existence of distant lymph node or liver metastasis (p = 0.527) and the lack of postoperative chemotherapy (p = 0.589).

Conclusions

For patients who have distant lymph node or liver metastasis and those who will not undergo postoperative chemotherapy, non-curative gastric resection has no survival benefit.

Analysis of surgery for incurable gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

It is important to evaluate the curability of and avoid unnecessary exploratory surgery for gastric cancer preoperatively. However, no related research has been reported until now. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing surgery for incurable gastric cancer.

METHODS

310 cases of T3-4 gastric cancer patients were analyzed retrospectively, including 141 cases with radical surgery and 169 with surgery for incurable gastric cancer. The incurable factors were categorized as T status (unresectable T4 tumor), N status (unresectable lymph node), peritoneal metastasis, and distant metastasis. χ (2) test and logistic regression were performed to analyze the associations between curability, T status, N status, peritoneal metastasis, or distant metastasis and clinicopathological data.

RESULTS

Esophageal involvement and T grade were associated with curability. Cardia involvement and Borrmann type were associated with T status. Esophageal involvement and T grade were associated with N status. Gastric body involvement, esophageal involvement, and T grade were associated with peritoneal metastasis. Gastric antrum involvement was associated with distant metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

The influencing factors of surgery for incurable gastric cancer should be analyzed preoperatively. Resectability should be evaluated according to these influencing factors combined with imaging analysis.

Long-term survival in patients with metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal cancer treated with surgery

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to determine the survival of patients with metastatic gastric cancer treated with surgery.

METHODS

We reviewed the medical records of 7,404 patients with gastric or gastroesophageal cancer seen from January 1995 to August 2012 at MD Anderson Cancer Center and identified patients with stage IV disease treated with surgery. Kaplan-Meier curves were created to compare overall survival (OS) between groups.

RESULTS

Of the 82 patients who met inclusion criteria, sites of metastatic disease included peritoneum (N = 34, 42%), positive cytology only (N = 17, 21%), distant lymph nodes (N = 12, 15%), and distant organs (N = 19, 23%). The median time from initial cancer diagnosis to surgery for metastatic disease was 10 months (range, 0-70). Surgery included exploratory surgery only (N = 16, 20%), primary tumor resection with or without resection of distant disease (N = 50, 61%), and distant disease resection only (N = 16, 20%). Median follow-up for living patients was 3 years (range, 0.1-14). Median survival for all patients was 1.5 years (range, 0.1-14). Five year OS for patients with peritoneal metastases, positive cytology only, distant lymph nodes, and distant organ involvement was 13, 42, 20, and 34%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery in the setting of metastatic disease is an uncommon clinical scenario and has a considerable risk of exploration without resection, although long-term survival is possible.

Techniques of intragastric laparoscopic surgery

Benign or pre-cancerous lesions and foreign bodies of the stomach not amendable to endoscopic removal often require extensive surgery to address a process that does not necessitate lymph node sampling or formal gastrectomy. These lesions are particularly difficult to address endoscopically when located at the esophagogastric junction as a retroflexed view is needed. From its first description in 1995, intragastric laparoscopic surgery has evolved with respect to both technological advancements and tactical innovations. Here we report the development of four distinct techniques of laparoscopic intragastric surgery which we have developed over time and applied in 11 patients. These techniques consist of a (1) combined gastroscopic/laparoscopic approach when minimal manipulation of the lesion is needed, (2) multiport resection which provides optimal triangulation and allows for resection of more complex lesions, (3) stapled removal of broad-based lesions, and (4) single access technique with the device placed directly through the abdominal wall into the stomach. The techniques expand the surgeon's armamentarium to address more complex intragastric processes safely, while the typical postoperative benefits of minimal access surgery such as fast recovery time and less pain are preserved. As we gain greater experience with intragastric laparoscopic surgery, this technique holds the promise of becoming a standard surgical technique for benign lesions for which it is oncologically safe to perform a limited resection.

Prognostic significance of non-curative gastrectomy for incurable gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND

To date, there is no convincing evidence regarding the benefits of non-curative gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. In the present study, we reviewed the outcomes of patients who underwent surgery for incurable gastric carcinoma and evaluated the prognostic significance of non-curative gastrectomy.

METHODS

Between 2004 and 2011, a total of 197 patients undergoing elective surgery for incurable gastric carcinoma were divided into the gastric resection and non-resection groups. Patient survival was compared between the two groups, and the prognostic significance of non-curative gastrectomy was investigated using multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

Overall, 162 (82.2 %) patients underwent non-curative gastrectomy with morbidity and mortality of 21.0 and 1.2 %, respectively. The median survival of patients undergoing non-curative gastrectomy was significantly longer than that of patients without gastrectomy (12.4 vs. 7.1 months, p = 0.003). Patients who received postoperative chemotherapy also showed significantly better survival than those without chemotherapy (13.2 vs. 4.3 months, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that non-curative gastrectomy was an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio 0.61, 95 % CI 0.40-0.93, p = 0.023) after adjusting for postoperative chemotherapy and other clinical factors. Median survival in patients receiving non-curative gastrectomy combined with postoperative chemotherapy was 13.9 months, which was significantly longer than gastrectomy alone (5.4 months), chemotherapy alone (9.6 months), and no treatment (3.2 months) (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Primary tumor resection and postoperative chemotherapy are the most important prognostic factors for incurable gastric carcinoma. The survival benefits of non-curative gastrectomy need to be confirmed in a large-scale, randomized trial.

Treatment of gastric cancer

The authors focused on the current surgical treatment of resectable gastric cancer, and significance of peri- and post-operative chemo or chemoradiation. Gastric cancer is the 4^th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Surgery remains the only curative therapy, while perioperative and adjuvant chemotherapy, as well as chemoradiation, can improve outcome of resectable gastric cancer with extended lymph node dissection. More than half of radically resected gastric cancer patients relapse locally or with distant metastases, or receive the diagnosis of gastric cancer when tumor is disseminated; therefore, median survival rarely exceeds 12 mo, and 5-years survival is less than 10%. Cisplatin and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy, with addition of trastuzumab in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive patients, is the widely used treatment in stage IV patients fit for chemotherapy. Recent evidence supports the use of second-line chemotherapy after progression in patients with good performance status