The 7th UICC N stage appears to provide a reliable prognostic category of MLNC of gastric cancer than the 5th/6th UICC N stage, and it is the efficiently prognostic indicator of gastric cancer after curative surgery.

The NELN should be considered a mandatory requirement for improving the accuracy of prognostic evaluation of GC patients, especially for advanced-stage patients.

The NLN count is a key factor for improvement of survival prediction of RML in gastric cancer.

Locoregional recurrence, peritoneal dissemination, and distant metastasis were the most common recurrence patterns of gastric cancer following a curative resection. Each recurrence pattern is associated with specific clinicopathological factors.

Surgical margin status is an independent prognostic factor for GC. Patients with positive margin have a poor prognosis, similar to that of IIIc stage disease. When the tumour demonstrates infiltrative growth pattern (Borrmann type III and IV) and the surgical margin status is difficult to determine, extended gastrectomy should be implemented to ensure an R0 resection. Those high-risk patients should be considered for postoperative chemotherapy.