Prevalence and characteristics of gastric remnant cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The incidence and outcomes of GRC remain variable. Minority published researches have paid attention to the characteristics of GRC. This study aimed to make a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of GRC, with a focus on characteristics and survival rates of GRC. PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were searched for related clinical studies. Data were pooled using Stata 11.0, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed if necessary and feasible. Moreover, SPSS (version 19.0) was used for comparing the clinical characteristics of GRC. Twenty studies were selected in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that the pooled prevalence of GRC was 2.6% (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.2-3.0%, p = 0.000). European population and American populations have a higher rate of prevalence of GRC than Chinese populations and Japan. There is no significant difference in histology and the TNM stage between the benign group and the malignant group. The five-year survival rate for GRC cases with benign primary gastric diseases is poorer than the primary gastric diseases malignant. Gastric remnant cancer is not a very rare clinical problem, especially for European and American patients. Active treatment and regular follow-up are conductive to increase 5-years survival rate.