Introduction Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world. By the time the patients are diagnosed with stage IV gastric cancer, many patients already have distant metastases. There is no unified systemic treatment plan in existence. The use of gastrectomy is ambiguous in patients with stage IV gastric cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial outcome of gastrectomy in patients with stage IV gastric cancer. Methods Clinical information of patients with gastric cancer from 2000 to 2010 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database were extracted and analysed. The risk factors for stage IV gastric cancer were also analysed. Results We observed that the median survival time for patients after surgery was greater than that for patients not treated surgically. The five-year survival rate for chemotherapy patients was higher than that of non-chemotherapeutic patients. Patients who receive both chemotherapy and surgery could achieve a more significant survival benefit. The risks following gastrectomy (partial, subtotal, hemi-) were lower than those of other surgical procedures, which provided guidance on the choice of surgical method. The numbers of regional lymph node metastasis were found to be related to prognosis. Conclusions In patients with stage IV gastric cancer, gastrectomy (partial, subtotal or hemi) should be selected when surgery is necessary. The number of regional lymph node metastasis could be considered as a prognostic factor for patients with stage IV gastric cancer and lymph node dissection could reduce the risk of patients undergoing surgery.

Background To explore the features of incidence proportions and long-term survivals of breast cancer patients with bone metastasis when first diagnosed. Methods Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute. Stratifications were made according to molecular subtype, age, sex, race and other factors. We performed multivariable logistic and Cox regression analysis to detect predictors of occurrence of bone metastasis at first diagnosis and factors related to all-cause mortality. Results We identified 310789 patients with breast cancer within the study period. Approximately 3.6% patients were diagnosed as bone metastasis within the entire cohort and 50.5% of the metastasis cohort. The highest incidence was from the cohorts of HR+/HER2+ (5.0% of the entire cohort). N3, metastases to brain, lung and liver were associated with higher possibility of developing bone metastases. For survival, HR+/HER2+ experience the longest survival time (41 months) and triple-negative patients had the shortest survival period (10 months). lymph node status other than N0 and distal metastasis to brain, lung and liver as possible factors which were associated with higher all-cause mortality. Conclusions We recommend routine bone screen at first diagnosis within high risk patients.