AIM:To characterize patterns of gastric cancer recurrence and patient survival and to identify predictors of early recurrence after surgery.
METHODS:Clinicopathological data for 417 consecutive patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Tumor and node status was reclassified according to the 7 th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor-node-metastasis classification for carcinoma of the stomach. Survival data came from both the patients' follow-up records and telephone followups. Recurrent gastric cancer was diagnosed based on clinical imaging, gastroscopy with biopsy, and/or cytological examination of ascites, or intraoperative findings in patients who underwent reoperation. Predictors of early recurrence were compared in patients with pT1 and pT2-4a stage tumors. Pearson's χ 2 test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare differences between categorical variables. Survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared via the log-rank test. Variables identified as potentially important for early recurrence using univariate analysis were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Core tip: Few studies have assessed recurrence patterns or predictors of early recurrence after curative surgery in Chinese patients with gastric carcinoma. This study found that survival after gastric cancer recurrence was poor. Large tumor size and advanced pN stage were associated with early recurrence of tumor pT1 stage tumors. Age, pT stage, pN stage, Lauren histotype, lymphovascular invasion, intraoperative chemotherapy, and postoperative chemotherapy were independent predictors of early recurrence of pT2-4a stage tumors.
RESULTS:Kang WM, Meng QB, Yu JC, Ma ZQ, Li ZT. Factors associated with early recurrence after curative surgery for gastric cancer.