Extended versus limited lymph nodes dissection technique for adenocarcinoma of the stomach

Emergency exploratory laparotomy and radical gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer combined with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignant tumor worldwide and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a frequent complication of GC. Radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy are widely used surgical procedures in the clinical management of GC. This study intends to probe the clinical efficacy and safety of radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy on the basis of exploratory laparotomy in patients with GC combined with UGIB, hoping to provide valuable information to aid patients in selecting the appropriate surgical intervention.

AIM

To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy in patients with GC and UGIB combined.

METHODS

A total of 89 GC patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China between July 2018 and July 2020 were selected as participants for this study. The 89 patients were divided into two groups: radical resection group (n = 46) treated with exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy and Palliative group (n = 43) treated with palliative therapy. The study compared several variables between the two groups, including surgical duration, intraoperative blood transfusion volume, postoperative anal exhaust time, off-bed activity time, length of hospitalization, and incidence of complications such as duodenal stump rupture, anastomotic obstruction, and postoperative incision. Additionally, postoperative immune function indicators (including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD3+/HLADR+), immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM), tumor markers (CEA, CA199, and CA125), and inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α) were assessed. The surgical efficacy and postoperative quality of life recovery were also evaluated. The patients were monitored for survival and tumor recurrence at 6 mo, 1 year, and 2 years post-surgery.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the duration of operation time and postoperative hospitalization did not differ between the two surgical procedures. However, patients in the radical resection group exhibited shorter intraoperative blood loss, anus exhaust time, off-bed activity time, and inpatient activity time than those in the Palliative group. Although there was no substantial difference in the occurrence of postoperative complications, such as duodenal stump rupture and anastomotic obstruction, between the radical resection group and Palliative group (P > 0.05), the radical resection group exhibited higher postoperative immune function indicators (including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, etc.) and immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgM) than the Palliative group, while tumor markers and inflammatory factors levels were lower than those in the radical resection group. Additionally, surgical efficacy, postoperative quality of life, and postoperative survival rates were higher in patients who underwent radical gastrectomy than in those who underwent palliative therapy. Moreover, the probability of postoperative tumor recurrence was lower in the radical gastrectomy group compared to the palliative therapy group, and these differences were all statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Compared to palliative therapy, exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy can improve immune function, reduce the levels of tumor markers and inflammatory factors, improve surgical efficacy, promote postoperative quality of life recovery, enhance survival rates, and attenuate the probability of tumor recurrence.

Postoperative Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy on the Survival of Stage III Gastric Cancer

Objective

Although adjuvant therapy has been shown to be beneficial in gastric cancer, the use of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy remains controversial. This paper investigated the effects of postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy on the survival of patients with stage III gastric cancer.

Methods

In total, the data of 72 stage III gastric cancer patients treated at our hospital from January 2014 to December 2019 were retrieved and assessed. They were categorized into a chemotherapy group (CT group) and a radiochemotherapy group (RCT group) according to their given treatment regimens. A 3-year follow-up was conducted to record their incidence of disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events.

Results

For the CT and RCT groups, DFS was 86.4% and 92.6% in the first year, decreasing to 55.1% and 73.7% in the second year, and 41.3% and 69.1% in the third year. There was no significant difference in DFS between the two groups during the three-year follow-up. Additionally, for the CT and RCT groups, their respective 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year OS were 95.6% and 96.3%, 75.1% and 87.9%, and 50.3% and 74.2%, indicating that the OS of patients in the RCT group was significantly higher than that in the CT group during 3 years of follow-up. Further, no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events was found between the two treatment groups.

Conclusions

Collectively, adjuvant radiochemotherapy after radical gastrectomy for stage III gastric cancer was associated with better survival outcomes than chemotherapy, without increase in adverse events.

Evaluating quality and completeness of gastrectomy for gastric cancer: review of surgical videos from the public domain

Background

YouTube^® has provided a forum to share surgical videos in the public domain which may be used for education. The quality of surgery and accompanying educational material is unknown. YouTube^® videos of gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy (D2-LND) for gastric cancer were evaluated for quality and completeness.

Methods

YouTube^® was searched using the terms "D2 lymphadenectomy" and "Gastric Cancer" for open and laparoscopic videos. The Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgical Society (KLASS) outlined 22 steps that define quality and completeness of D2-LND. These guidelines were used to score D2-LND for each video. Four physician reviewers independently scored each surgical video. Scores were compared using Student's t-test.

Results

Ten laparoscopic and 10 open surgery videos were assessed. Each video was scored for quality and completeness and assigned a score out of 22. Mean score for open D2-LND was 15 (95% CI: 12.54-17.46). Mean score for laparoscopic D2-LND was 15.4 (95% CI: 14.34-16.46; P=0.77). The most consistently performed steps were the dissection of lymph node stations 1, 3, 4 and 5. The most commonly omitted steps were the dissection of lymph node station 6: exposure and identification of the lowest anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal vein; removal of the prepancreatic soft tissues above the lowest anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal vein; removal of the prepancreatic soft tissues above the level of the bifurcation of the anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal vein and right gastroepiploic vein.

Conclusions

There is a wide range of quality and completeness of D2-LND videos. On average, D2-LND videos are only two-thirds complete.

Chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment for resected gastric cancer: should we use selection criteria?

Background

The management of gastric adenocarcinoma is essentially based on surgery followed by adjuvant treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) as well as chemoradiotherapy (CTRT) have proven their effectiveness in survival outcomes compared to surgery alone. However, there is little data comparing the two adjuvant approaches. This study aimed to compare the prognosis and survival outcomes of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma operated and treated by adjuvant radio-chemotherapy or chemotherapy.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively evaluated 80 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LGC) who received adjuvant treatment. We compared survival outcomes and patterns of recurrence of 53 patients treated by CTRT and those of 27 patients treated by CT.

Results

After a median follow-up of 38.48 months, CTRT resulted in a significant improvement of the 5-year PFS (60.9% vs. 36%, p = 0.03) and the 5-year OS (55.9% vs. 33%, p = 0.015) compared to adjuvant CT. The 5-year OS was significantly increased by adjuvant CTRT (p = 0.046) in patients with lymph node metastasis, and particularly those with advanced pN stage (p = 0.0078) and high lymph node ratio (LNR) exceeding 25% (p = 0.012). Also, there was a significant improvement of the PFS of patients classified pN2-N3 (p = 0.022) with a high LNR (p = 0.018). CTRT was also associated with improved OS and PFS in patients with lymphovascular and perineural invasion (LVI and PNI) compared to chemotherapy.

Conclusion

There is a particular survival benefit of adding radiotherapy to chemotherapy in patients with selected criteria such as lymph node involvement, high LNR LVI, and PNI.

Advanced gastric cancer: the value of surgery

Gastric cancer is a common disease with high mortality. The definition of advanced gastric cancer is still debated. Radical surgery associated to appropriate systemic and intra-abdominal chemotherapy is the gold standard treatment. In presence of peritoneal carcinosis, reaching a complete cytoreduction is the key to achieve long-term survival. Adequate lymphadenectomy is also fundamental. Conversion therapy could be applied to selected IV stage patients. No definitive evidences exist regarding the oncological and surgical superiority of mini-invasive approaches over the classical open techniques.

Metastatic lymph node ratio and Lauren classification are independent prognostic markers for survival rates of patients with gastric cancer

The long-term prognosis for patients with gastric cancer (GC) following radical resection remains poor. It is important to identify prognostic markers to predict survival. In the present retrospective study, the association between the metastatic lymph node ratio (rN) and the Lauren classification on predicting overall survival (OS) was investigated. Furthermore, a subgroup analysis was performed on the Lauren classification, using rN score as an independent prognostic marker. In total, 261 pathologically confirmed patients with GC were retrospectively reviewed. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox's proportional hazards modeling were applied to analyze the OS of patients, and were utilized in the subgroup analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the accuracy of prognosis between the rN score and lymph node staging (N stage). The χ2 test was used to analyze the association between the rN score and Lauren classification. Univariate survival and multivariate analysis demonstrated that the rN score and Lauren classification were significant prognostic markers for patients with GC. The ROC analysis confirmed that the rN score was more effective than N staging for OS prediction. Subgroup analysis indicated that rN was more accurate at predicting OS time in patients with diffuse type GC. The rN score and the Lauren classification were independent prognostic factors for the OS of patients with GC following radical resection, and the rN score was more accurate than the N stage for predicting the prognosis. Overall, the rN may be suitable as an independent predictor for OS in patients with diffuse type GC.

Problems faced by evidence-based medicine in evaluating lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer

Gastric cancer surgical management differs between Eastern Asia and Western countries. Extended lymphadenectomy (D2) is the standard of care in Japan and South Korea since decades, while the majority of United States patients receive at most a limited lymphadenectomy (D1). United States and Northern Europe are considered the scientific leaders in medicine and evidence-based procedures are the cornerstone of their clinical practice. However, surgeons in Eastern Asia are more experienced, as there are more new cases of gastric cancer in Japan (107898 in 2012) than in the entire European Union (81592), or in South Korea (31269) than in the entire United States (21155). For quite a long time evidence-based medicine (EBM) did not solve the question whether D2 improves long-term prognosis with respect to D1. Indeed, eastern surgeons were reluctant to perform D1 even in the frame of a clinical trial, as their patients had a very good prognosis after D2. Evidence-based surgical indications provided by Western trials were questioned, as surgical procedures could not be properly standardized. In the present study we analyzed indications about the optimal extension of lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer according to current scientific literature (2008-2012) and surgical guidelines. We searched PubMed for papers using the key words “lymphadenectomy or D1 or D2” AND “gastric cancer” from 2008 to 2012. Moreover, we reviewed national guidelines for gastric cancer management. The support to D2 lymphadenectomy increased progressively from 2008 to 2012: since 2010 papers supporting D2 have achieved a higher overall impact factor than the other papers. Till 2011, D2 was the procedure of choice according to experts’ opinion, while three meta-analyses found no survival advantage after D2 with respect to D1. In 2012-2013, however, two meta-analyses reported that D2 improves prognosis with respect to D1. D2 lymphadenectomy was proposed as the standard of care for advanced gastric cancer by Japanese National Guidelines since 1981 and was adopted as the standard procedure by the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer since the Nineties. D2 is now indicated as the standard of surgical treatment with curative intent by the German, British and ESMO-ESSO-ESTRO guidelines. At variance American NCCN guidelines recommend a D1⁺ or a modified D2 lymph node dissection. In conclusion, D2 lymphadenectomy, originally developed by Eastern surgeons, is now becoming the procedure of choice also in the West. In gastric cancer surgery EBM is lagging behind national guidelines, rather than preceding and orienting them. To eliminate this lag, EBM should value to a larger extent Eastern Asian literature and should evaluate not only the quality of the study design but also the quality of surgical procedures.

[Lymph node dissection: what for? From esophagus to rectum: surgical and lymph node related prognostic factors]

Surgery has still a key role in curative treatment of digestive carcinomas, and for almost all localisations, lymph node status is a major prognostic factor. As far as oesophageal and gastric cancer are concerned, there is not yet any internationally standardized approach. Occidental guidelines recommend more limited lymph node dissections than Asiatic ones. Lymph node numbers requested during surgery of such cancers remain high, at least 23 lymph nodes for oesophageal cancer, and 25 for a D2 or D1.5 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer. Generalisation of neo-adjuvant and adjuvant treatments has not yet modified these standards. On the other hand, rectal cancer surgery is well standardized since the global adoption of Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) for the late eighties. Development of mini-invasive techniques (laparoscopy and robot-assisted surgery) enabled an important decrease of surgery related morbidity as well as an enhanced post-operative recovery. However, rectal cancer surgery still has an important morbidity. Development of neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy as well as in-depth knowledge of risk factor of lymph node invasion opened up the path for transanal full thickness resection without lymphadenectomy. The goal of such an approach is to avoid TME's morbidity without risking local recurrence rate increase. As a consequence, this technique might need to be completed with a TME case histological factors are not favorable.

Enhanced recovery (ERAS) protocol in patients undergoing laparoscopic total gastrectomy

INTRODUCTION

Laparoscopic technique combined with the ERAS (Enhanced Recovery after Surgery) protocol enables a shorter hospital stay and a lower complication rate. Although it has been widely used in many patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery, especially in patients with colorectal cancer, there are only a few papers describing laparoscopic total gastrectomy and the enhanced recovery protocol in patients with gastric cancer. Minimally invasive gastrectomy is still an uncommon procedure, mostly because of its difficulty.

AIM

To present the preliminary results of treatment of patients with gastric neoplasms who underwent laparoscopic gastrectomy D2 with perioperative care according to ERAS principles.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Eleven patients (5 male and 6 female, age 52-77 years) underwent laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy with intracorporeal esophagojejunal anastomosis. In all patients the ERAS protocol was implemented. We analyzed operation time, complications and hospital stay. Additionally we focused on operative technique as well as the perioperative care protocol.

RESULTS

The mean duration of the procedure was 245 min. There was 1 conversion due to unclear tumor infiltration. Mean hospital stay was 4.6 days. One postoperative complication (central venous catheter sepsis) was reported. Histological analysis confirmed the tentative diagnosis (R0 resection) in 10/11 patients. There were no readmissions.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic gastrectomy is a valuable alternative to the classical approach and combined with the ERAS protocol can result in reduced hospital stay. However, due to the small group of patients it is difficult to adequately assess the incidence of early and late complications of the laparoscopic procedures; therefore further research is needed.

Extent of lymphadenectomy and perioperative therapies: Two open issues in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of death for cancer worldwide, although geographical variations in incidence exist. Over the last decades, its incidence and mortality have gradually decreased in Western countries, while these have increased, or remained stable, in the other world regions. Gastric cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, with the only notable exception of Japan, where nationwide screening programs are enforced, due to local high incidence. Curative- intent surgery (i.e., gastrectomy, total or partial, and lymphadenectomy) remains the cornerstone of treatment of gastric cancer. Much has been debated about the extent of lymph node dissection and, although it is a valuable contribution to staging and cure, operative treatment only represents one aspect of overall effective management, as the risk of both locoregional and distant recurrences are high, and bear a poor prognosis. As a matter of fact, surgery, as a single modality treatment, has probably achieved its maximum efficacy for local control and survival, while other accompanying nonsurgical treatment modalities have to be taken into account, although their role is still the subject of considerable debate. The authors in this review present an update on the outcome of treatment of gastric cancer in relation to the extent of lymphadenectomy and of various nonsurgical preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative strategies.

Preoperative serum tumor marker levels in gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

Tumor markers have shown little benefit as a method for screening. However, they can be used clinically for the monitoring of tumor recurrence and used as prognostic factors because higher levels have been observed in advanced disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the preoperative tumor marker levels and different clinical aspects of gastric cancer.

METHODS

One hundred and six consecutive patients with confirmed diagnosis of gastric cancer and 106 subjects (age and sex matched) with no malignancy as control group were included prospectively in this study in 3 years. The relationships between tumor markers CEA, CA 19-9 and stage of disease, tumor differentiation, presence of ringlet cell type, presence of peritoneal carcinomatozis were investigated.

RESULTS

The serum CEA and CA 125 levels were found to be significantly elevated in gastric cancer patients than in controls. The serum level of CEA had showed a significant elevation with the presence of distant metastasis. The CA 19-9 and CA 125 levels had showed significant elevations with the presence of peritoneal carcinomatozis. Conclusions : This study showed that there is a limited clinical benefit of preoperative tumor marker measurements in gastric cancer such as estimation of peritoneal dissemination.

Post-surgical chemotherapy versus surgery alone for resectable gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

For gastric cancer surgery is the mainstay treatment. Chemotherapy seems to improve the survival results. But chemotherapy is not a complication-free therapy and its role has been questioned by some trials.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether post-surgical chemotherapy should be used routinely in resectable gastric cancer.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded (July 2013).

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCT) comparing post-surgical chemotherapy versus surgery alone for resectable gastric cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and independently extracted the data. We analysed the data with both the fixed-effect and the random-effects models using the RevMan analysis software. We calculated the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) based on intention-to-treat or available case analysis.

MAIN RESULTS

The authors identified 34 studies (7824 patients) reporting overall survival (OS) and only 15 reporting disease free survival (DFS) as well. Post-surgical chemotherapy showed an improvement in OS (HR 0.85; 95% CI 0.80 to 0.90) and an improvement in DFS (HR 0.79; 95% CI 0.72 to 0.87), although all the trials had a high risk of bias.The planned analysis of quality of life, return to work, and number of hospital admissions was impossible to complete as the outcome data for the analysis were not available from any trials.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Post-surgical chemotherapy should be used routinely for resectable gastric cancer where possible. Further RCTs are needed to determine the role at each stage of disease.

Lymph node dissection in resectable advanced gastric cancer

The extent of surgery for gastric cancer has been debated since Billroth performed his first gastrectomy in 1881. This review gives an overview of the available literature on the extent of gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy for advanced resectable gastric cancer. Subtotal gastrectomy is associated with lower morbidity and mortality compared with total gastrectomy, without compromising long-term survival. However, a positive resection margin decreases the chance of curation. Frozen section examination may prevent this. For poorly differentiated singlet ring cell tumors, there may be an argument to perform a total gastrectomy in all cases. In 1981, the Japanese Research Society for the Study of Gastric Cancer provided guidelines for the standardization of surgical treatment and pathological evaluation of gastric cancer. Since then, D2 lymph node dissections have become the standard of care in Japan. Because of the superior stage-specific survival rates in Japan, a D2 dissection was evaluated in several Western randomized controlled trials, but no survival benefit was found for a D2 over a D1 dissection. This might be explained by the increased mortality in the D2 dissection groups which might be the result of a standard pancreaticosplenectomy and low experience with D2 dissections. Adding the removal of the para-aortic nodes to a D2 dissection does not further improve survival. The removal of lymph node stations 10 and 11 by splenectomy showed an increased morbidity, no survival benefit, and a very poor prognosis if lymph nodes were affected. Therefore, pancreaticosplenectomy should only be performed in cases of tumor invasion into these organs. A D2 dissection without routine splenectomy and pancreatic tail resection in experienced hands should be considered standard of care for advanced resectable gastric cancer, both in Asian and in Western patients. Centralization and auditing may further improve outcomes after gastrectomy.

Learning curve for d2 lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer

Background. D2 lymphadenectomy is a demanding technique which is associated with high morbidity in the West. We report our experience with D2 lymphadenectomy after a training period in Japan. Methods. Prospective, descriptive study in 133 consecutive patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma from 2005 to 2011. We analysed the number of lymph nodes removed, observed morbidity/mortality compared with the predictions of POSSUM and O-POSSUM, survival, and disease-free interval for patients with D1 and D2 lymphadenectomy. Results. The morbidity rate in patients with D1 lymphadenectomy was 59.4%. For D2 it was 47.7%. The mortality rate in patients with D1 was 6.7%. In the D2 group it was 6.8%. Median survival was 42.9 months in D1 and 55 months in D2. The disease-free interval was 49 months for D1 and 58 months for D2. Conclusion. The learning curve for D2 lymphadenectomy presents acceptable rates of morbidity and mortality, providing that the technique is learnt at a center with extensive experience.

Poor prognosis of advanced gastric cancer with metastatic suprapancreatic lymph nodes

Background

Whether gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy improves survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains controversial. Few studies have described the pathological features of AGC with metastatic suprapancreatic lymph nodes (LN), which are the target of D2 lymphadenectomy. This study therefore aims to clarify the prognosis and clinical pathological features including the number and location of metastatic LN in AGC with metastatic suprapancreatic LN.

Methods

406 patients with AGC, who underwent gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy from 1982 to 2007 at Oita University, were reviewed retrospectively with regard to presence or absence of metastatic suprapancreatic LN. The pathological factors associated with AGC with metastatic suprapancreatic LN were examined by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

Of 362 patients with AGC, 78 had suprapancreatic LN metastasis (21.5 %), differing significantly in terms of presence of vascular invasion and having a larger number of metastatic perigastric LN in comparison with only metastatic perigastric LN on univariate analysis. According to multivariate analysis, they were associated with presence of vascular invasion and a large number of total metastatic LN (more than two; N2≤). The overall 5-year survival rate of the AGC with perigastric LN metastasis (station 1–7) group was 37.9 % and of the AGC with suprapancreatic LN metastasis group was 12.8 %. There were significant differences in each group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Patients with AGC with metastatic suprapancreatic LN had a large number of total metastatic LN and poor prognosis, suggesting that it may be a systemic disease.

The prognostic value of harvested lymph nodes and the metastatic lymph node ratio for gastric cancer patients: results of a study of 1,101 patients

AIM

To investigate whether the recommendation to remove 15 lymph nodes that is used in the staging system is necessary to assess gastric cancer progression and to evaluate whether our metastatic lymph node ratio dividing method, adapted from the AJCC's (American Joint Committee on Cancer) 7(th) TNM staging system, is helpful for the patients with fewer than 15 harvested lymph nodes.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of 1101 patients with histologically diagnosed gastric cancer who underwent a D2 gastrectomy at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2001 and December 2010. The Kappa and Chi-squared tests were employed to compare the clinicopathological variables. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were employed for the univariate and multivariate survival analyses.

RESULTS

In the trial, 346, 601 and 154 patients had 0-14, 15-30 and more than 30 lymph nodes harvested, respectively. The median survival times of patients with different lymph nodes harvested in N0, N1, N2 and N3a groups were 45.43, 54.28 and 66.95 months (p=0.068); 49.22, 44.25 and 56.72 months (p<0.001), 43.94, 47.97 and 35.19 months (p=0.042); 32.88, 42.76 and 23.50 months (p=0.016). Dividing the patients who had fewer than 15 lymph nodes harvested by the metastatic lymph node ratio at 0, 0.13 and 0.40, the median survival times of these 4 groups were 70.6, 50.5, 53.5 and 30.7 months (p<0.001). After re-categorising these 4 groups into the N0, N1, N2, N3a groups, the histological grade, T staging, premier N staging, and restaged N staging were the independent prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Large numbers of lymph nodes harvested in radical gastrectomy do not cause stage migration. For those patients with a small number of harvested lymph nodes, their stage should be divided by the metastatic lymph node ratio, referred to in the TNM staging system, to assign them an accurate stage.

The prognostic value of harvested lymph nodes and the metastatic lymph node ratio for gastric cancer patients: results of a study of 1,101 patients

Aim

To investigate whether the recommendation to remove 15 lymph nodes that is used in the staging system is necessary to assess gastric cancer progression and to evaluate whether our metastatic lymph node ratio dividing method, adapted from the AJCC’s (American Joint Committee on Cancer) 7^th TNM staging system, is helpful for the patients with fewer than 15 harvested lymph nodes.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of 1101 patients with histologically diagnosed gastric cancer who underwent a D2 gastrectomy at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2001 and December 2010. The Kappa and Chi-squared tests were employed to compare the clinicopathological variables. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were employed for the univariate and multivariate survival analyses.

Results

In the trial, 346, 601 and 154 patients had 0–14, 15–30 and more than 30 lymph nodes harvested, respectively. The median survival times of patients with different lymph nodes harvested in N0, N1, N2 and N3a groups were 45.43, 54.28 and 66.95 months (p = 0.068); 49.22, 44.25 and 56.72 months (p<0.001), 43.94, 47.97 and 35.19 months (p = 0.042); 32.88, 42.76 and 23.50 months (p = 0.016). Dividing the patients who had fewer than 15 lymph nodes harvested by the metastatic lymph node ratio at 0, 0.13 and 0.40, the median survival times of these 4 groups were 70.6, 50.5, 53.5 and 30.7 months (p<0.001). After re-categorising these 4 groups into the N0, N1, N2, N3a groups, the histological grade, T staging, premier N staging, and restaged N staging were the independent prognostic factors.

Conclusions

Large numbers of lymph nodes harvested in radical gastrectomy do not cause stage migration. For those patients with a small number of harvested lymph nodes, their stage should be divided by the metastatic lymph node ratio, referred to in the TNM staging system, to assign them an accurate stage.

Quality of care indicators for the surgical treatment of gastric cancer: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Quality assurance is increasingly acknowledged as a crucial factor for the (surgical) treatment of gastric cancer. The purpose of the current study was to define a minimum set of evidence-based quality of care indicators for the surgical treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature published between January 1990 and May 2011 was performed, using search terms on gastric cancer, treatment, and quality of care. Studies were selected based on predefined selection criteria. Potential quality of care indicators were assessed based on their level of evidence and were grouped into structure, process, and outcome indicators.

RESULTS

A total of 173 articles were included in the current study. For structural measures, evidence was found for the inverse relationship between hospital volume and postoperative mortality as well as overall survival. Regarding process measures, the most common indicators concerned surgical technique, perioperative care, and multimodality treatment. The only outcome indicator with supporting evidence was a microscopically radical resection.

CONCLUSIONS

Although specific literature on quality of care indicators for the surgical treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer is limited, several quality of care indicators could be identified. These indicators can be used in clinical audits and other quality assurance programs.

A meta-analysis of D1 versus D2 lymph node dissection

BACKGROUND

Surgery is the only curative treatment for patients with gastric cancer. However, the extent of lymph node dissection is still debated. Therefore, with the publication of newer trial results, we conducted an updated meta-analysis of D1 versus D2 randomized controlled trials comparing outcomes.

METHODS

Systematic searches were conducted using Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1, 1985, to December 31, 2010. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan v5 software. Both short- and long-term outcomes were analyzed. Subgroup analyses of T stage and spleen/pancreas resection versus preservation were performed.

RESULTS

Outcomes of 5 randomized trials involving 1642 patients (845 D1, 797 D2) enrolled from 1982 to 2005 were included. Despite the addition of the more recent trials, overall hospital mortality and reoperation rates were still higher in D2 cases. Subgroup analysis of recent trials and spleen/pancreas preservation revealed no significant difference in hospital mortality between groups. Five-year overall survival was similar between D1 versus D2 trials. Sub-analysis by tumor depth and spleen/pancreas preservation detected trends for improved survival with D2 lymphadenectomy in T3/T4 patients and those with spleen/pancreas preservation.

CONCLUSION

Earlier trials show that D2 dissections have higher operative mortality, while recent trials have similar rates. A trend of improved survival exists among D2 patients who did not undergo resection of the spleen or pancreas, as well as for patients with T3/T4 cancers.

Gastric adenocarcinoma surgery and adjuvant therapy

Gastric adenocarcinoma is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy, offering the only chance for complete cure. Resection is based on the principles of obtaining adequate margins, with the extent of lymphadenectomy remaining controversial. Neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies are used to reduce local recurrence and improve long-term survival. This article reviews the literature and provides a summary of surgical management options and neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapies for gastric adenocarcinoma.

VEGF-D correlates with metastatic disease in gastric cancer patients undergoing surgery

BACKGROUND

The present study was designed to evaluate the impact of the tyrosine kinase ligands VEGF-A/C/D, PDGF-A/B on tumor dissemination and survival in gastric cancer. This is the first study analyzing all these parameters in a homogeneous patient population undergoing surgery.

METHODS

The expression pattern of VEGF-A/C/D and PDGF-A/B was analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 69 samples of human gastric adenocarcinoma and correlated with tumor stage and survival.

RESULTS

Expression of the ligand VEGF-D significantly correlated with distant metastatic disease (P=0.00001) but not with patient survival. However, VEGF-A inversely correlated with M1 and grading, PDGF-A inversely correlated with pT and pN category. In contrast, VEGF-C and PDGF-B did not have an impact on clinicopathological parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

The ligand VEGF-D, rather than the other ligands or tyrosine kinase receptors analyzed, is associated with progressive disease in gastric cancer patients undergoing surgery. The VEGF-D ligand might be a helpful marker indicating disseminated disease, and targeting VEGF-D may be a potential therapeutic strategy, although limitations imposed by the selected sample population have to be considered critically.

Gastric cancer: Where is the place for the surgeon, the oncologist and the endoscopist today?

Gastric cancer remains a major health issue and a leading cause of death worldwide. While the incidence is decreasing in western countries, there has been a shift to more proximal cancers of the diffuse type, which are usually more aggressive and associated with a worse prognosis. Radical surgery still offers the only chance of long term survival, but surgery has reached a plateau of effectiveness and more aggressive approaches like “ultraradical” lymphadenectomy have not improved prognosis. There are three options to improve the situation: Earlier detection, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant therapy. Whilst systematic gastroscopic screening makes sense in countries with a high incidence of gastric cancer, in other regions targeted investigation of risk groups including first-degree relatives of cancer patients, patients with a chronic corpus-dominant gastritis or with defined genetic abnormalities may help to detect cancer at an earlier stage. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has meanwhile proved to significantly improve the prognosis not only in patients with a locally advanced cancer who cannot be resected for cure but but also in those who are potentially amenable to curative resection. In the largest randomised study so far reported, perioperative chemotherapy raised overall survival after 5 years from 23% to 36%. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy has been discussed for over 30 years. Meta-analyses demonstrate a small but significant effect which, however, seems to be restricted to Asian patients. In a large US-study, adjuvant radiochemotherapy appeared to significantly improve outcomes. However, less than 50% of the study patients underwent a systematic lymphadenectomy and so the results of the therapy group were not better to those of “only resected” patients in two large European studies. Thus, the indication of adjuvant (radio-)chemotherapy in gastric cancer currently remains uncertain. Endoscopists have found a therapeutic role through endoscopic resection of early cancers, introduced mainly by Japanese authors. With the development of high resolution endoscopy, endosonography and adequate equipment, the endoscopic curative resection of T1a-tumors (restricted to the mucosal layer) has been established.

Prognostic relevance of demographics and surgical practice for patients with gastric cancer in two centers: in Poland versus Germany

BACKGROUND

Although studies comparing the surgical treatment of gastric carcinoma in Japan and Western industrialized countries have revealed differing survival rates, no studies to date have been performed comparing Western and Eastern Europe. This study aimed to compare demographics and surgical practice as well as the related prognostic impact on gastric cancer patients treated in Poland and Germany.

METHODS

This retrospective study included gastric cancer patients treated between 1999 and 2004 by surgical departments in Gdansk (Poland) and Cologne (Germany). Univariate and multivariate analyses of demographic, histopathological, surgical, and prognostic data were performed.

RESULTS

Included were 117 patients from Gdansk and 130 patients from Cologne. The Cologne patients showed higher incidence rates of serious comorbidity, pT1 cancer, and distant metastasis than those from Gdansk. Indications for and frequency of selected surgical procedures differed significantly. D2-lymphadenectomy was performed in 89% of the Cologne patients, while D1-lymphadenectomy was done for 85% of the Gdansk patients. Univariate analysis yielded a 5-year survival rate of 28.3% for the Gdansk patients, and 40.3% for the Cologne patients (p = 0.056). Independent prognostic factors were pT category (p = 0.002), pN category (p < 0.001), pM category (p = 0.027), residual tumor (R) category (p = 0.004), age (p = 0.012), and number of resected lymph nodes (p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant differences of clinical and surgical parameters exist between gastric cancer patients treated in Poland and Germany. In addition to established independent prognostic factors, we found that survival improved with each additionally resected lymph node.

Treatment options for surgically resectable gastric cancer

Surgery is the only curative therapy for gastric cancer. The standard recommendations for resectable gastric adenocarcinoma are free-margin surgery with at least D1 resection and the removal of a minimum of 15 lymph nodes. The overall 5-year survival rate for resected gastric patients remains poor due to locoregional recurrence. The results of a large North American study (Gastrointestinal Cancer Intergroup Trial INT 0116) reported that postoperative chemoradiotherapy conferred a survival advantage compared with surgery alone, which led to the regimen being adopted as a standard of care. More recently the MAGIC/UK Medical Research Council (MRC) trial demonstrated that perioperative chemotherapy resulted in an improvement in overall survival and progression free survival. Thus, two successful strategies are available to improve outcomes in patients with localized gastric cancer. This article reviews data on adjuvant and perioperative treatment modalities for gastric cancer. The article discusses ongoing randomized adjuvant and perioperative trials that are designed to optimize chemotherapy regimens and also investigate combinations of chemotherapy and biologic agents. It is important to understand the mechanisms or pathways involved in gastric cancer development and metastasis. Identification of novel molecules pivotal to tumor biology may lead to new therapeutic approaches for this malignancy.

R0 resection in the treatment of gastric cancer: Room for improvement

Gastric carcinoma is one of the most frequent malignancies in the world and its clinical behavior especially depends on the metastatic potential of the tumor. In particular, lymphatic metastasis is one of the main predictors of tumor recurrence and survival, and current pathological staging systems reflect the concept that lymphatic spread is the most relevant prognostic factor in patients undergoing curative resection. This is compounded by the observation that two-thirds of gastric cancer in the Western world presents at an advanced stage, with lymph node metastasis at diagnosis. All current therapeutic efforts in gastric cancer are directed toward individualization of therapeutic protocols, tailoring the extent of resection and the administration of preoperative and postoperative treatment. The goals of all these strategies are to improve prognosis towards the achievement of a curative resection (R0 resection) with minimal morbidity and mortality, and better postoperative quality of life.

The node ratio as prognostic factor after curative resection for gastric cancer

INTRODUCTION

The depth of the tumor invasion and nodal involvement are the two main prognostic factors in gastric cancer. Staging systems differ among countries and new tools are needed to interpret and compare results and to reduce stage migration. The node ratio (NR) has been proposed as a new prognostic factor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 282 patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer at Parma University Hospital between 2000 and 2007. TNM stage, NR, overall survival, survival according to nodal status, and survival according to the total number of nodes retrieved were calculated.

RESULTS

At univariate analysis, the TNM stage, number of metastatic nodes, NR, and depth of tumor invasion, but not the number of nodes retrieved, were significant prognosis factors. Patients with more than 15 nodes retrieved in the specimen survived significantly longer (p < 0.04). This was confirmed for all N or NR classes within N groups. There was a correlation between the number of nodes retrieved and N but not with the NR category. NR was an independent prognostic factor at Cox regression.

CONCLUSION

NR is a reliable and sensitive tool to differentiate patients with similar characteristics, probably more so than the TNM system. NR is not strictly related to the number of nodes retrieved and this may potentially decrease the stage migration phenomenon. More trials are needed to validate this factor.

Systematic review of D2 lymphadenectomy versus D2 with para-aortic nodal dissection for advanced gastric cancer

AIM

To evaluate the feasibility and therapeutic effects of para-aortic nodal dissection (PAND) for advanced gastric cancer.

METHODS

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies comparing D2 + PAND with D2 lymphadenectomy were identified using a pre-defined search strategy. Five-year overall survival rate, post-operative mortality, and wound degree of surgery between the two operations were compared by using the methods provided by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.

RESULTS

Four RCTs (1120 patients) and 4 non-randomized studies (901 patients) were identified. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between these two groups in 5-year overall survival rate [risk ratio (RR) 1.04 (95% CI: 0.93-1.16) for RCTs and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.83-1.10) for non-randomized studies] and post-operative mortality [RR 0.99 (95% CI: 0.44-2.24) for RCTs and 2.06 (95% CI: 0.69-6.15) for non-randomized studies]. There was a significant difference between these two groups in wound degree of surgery, operation time was significantly longer [weighted mean difference (WMD) 195.32 min (95% CI: 114.59-276.05) for RCTs and 126.07 min (95% CI: 22.09-230.04) for non-randomized studies] and blood loss was significantly greater [WMD 301 mL (95% CI: 151.55-450.45) for RCTs and 302.86 mL (95% CI: 127.89-477.84) for non-randomized studies] in D2 + PAND.

CONCLUSION

D2 + PAND can be performed as safely as standard D2 resection without increasing post-operative mortality but fail to benefit overall survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

The accuracy of sentinel node mapping according to T stage in patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has been recently introduced to the field of gastric cancer. To the best of our knowledge, no study has dealt with the accuracy of SLN mapping according to the T stage of the primary tumor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate SLN status according to the T stage of the primary tumors.

METHODS

Eighty patients with gastric cancer underwent SLN mapping with patent blue dye during gastric resection.

RESULTS

Forty-seven patients underwent distal subtotal gastrectomy; 17 patients, proximal gastrectomy; 14, total gastrectomy; and 2, gastric stump resection. SLNs were stained in 61/80 patients (76.3%). The number of stained SLNs varied from 1 to 16 (mean, 3.3). Patients undergoing proximal gastrectomy had a mean of 3 stained SLNs, whereas patients undergoing distal subtotal gastrectomy had a mean of 2.8 stained SLNs. In 55/61 patients (90.2%) with stained SLNs a positive correlation was found between the presence of metastases and stained or non-stained SLNs. Ten out of 11 patients (90.9%) with T1 tumors (mean, 3.27 SLNs per patient) and 15/17 patients with T2 tumors (88.2%; mean, 3 SLNs per patient) had stained SLNs as compared to only 33/48 (68.8%) of patients with T3 tumors (mean, 3.3 SLNs per patient). The positive predictive value of the SLN mapping was 100%, the negative predictive value was 76.9%, and sensitivity was 85.4%.

CONCLUSION

While in T1 and T2 tumors sentinel node mapping may be of assistance in the decision-making process regarding the extent of lymphadenectomy (sensitivity, 100%; negative predictive value, 90%-100%), SLN mapping in patients with T3 tumors will be misleading in a third of the patients and should not be attempted.

The issue of lymphadenectomy during laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma

Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment for gastric cancer. Laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy has failed to gain universal acceptance as an alternative to the open approach for a number of reasons, one of which includes the issue of oncological radicality in terms of lymph node dissection. Nodal status, which is one of the most crucial and independent predictors of patient survival, therefore has been examined both in single institutional trials and also in randomised controlled trials especially on early gastric cancer. The issue of oncological adequacy for laparoscopic lymph node harvesting for advanced gastric cancer remains a contentious issue because of the unique challenges it poses in terms of complexity, safety and time, and also the lack of randomised controlled trials in this area. It is thus imperative that good quality multicentre randomised controlled trials are designed to investigate the benefits of extended lymphadenectomy in the setting of laparoscopic surgery, especially for advanced gastric cancer and its impact on both short and long term survival.

[Tumors of the upper gastro-intestinal tract]

The appropriate extent of lymph node dissection in tumors of the upper gastro-intestinal tract continues to be debated. The basic tenet of surgical oncology that cancerous lymph nodes are indicators not governors of survival is under question and derives from the different theories of metastasis. Is the metastatic flow linear (indicators) or does it occur in parallel to tumorigenesis (governor)? If the latter theory is true there would be only a limited indication for lymphadenectomy (LA).Extended LA leads to an ameliorated staging of the N category. Following LA locoregional tumor control is significantly improved for esophageal and gastric cancer. In case of gastric cancer it is evident that there is a group of patients in which extended LA lead to improved long-term survival. This gain in prognosis affects patients in which lymph node metastasis is not or only slightly advanced. In locally advanced tumors there is no prognostic benefit. Patients who might benefit from the extended procedure cannot be assessed during preoperative staging. Therefore, the indications for the procedure should be liberally carried out by experienced hands and in experienced centers. According to randomized studies there is no indication for extended radical LA in pancreatic cancer.

Advances in the management of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy in our country and patients continue to present at an advanced stage. Following confirmation of diagnosis, CT scan, endoscopic ultrasound and laparoscopy are the essential staging modalities. Radical gastrectomy remains the initial treatment of choice. Although controversy persists about the extent of lymph node dissection, there is a general consensus in performing D2 dissection but with preservation of pancreas and spleen. Patients who have high risk of relapse are treated with postoperative chemoradiotherapy. The regimen of preoperative chemotherapy followed by gastrectomy and postoperative chemotherapy has also become important in recent years. Both these chemotherapeutic options confer survival advantage and patients need to be appraised about various treatment strategies at the very outset.

Routine modified D2 lymphadenectomy performance in pT1-T2N0 gastric cancer

AIM: To evaluate routine modified D2 lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer, based on immunohistochemically detected skip micrometastases in level II lymph nodes.

METHODS: Among 95 gastric cancer patients who were routinely submitted to curative modified D2 lymphadenectomy, from January 2004 to December 2008, 32 were classified as pN0. All level I lymph nodes of these 32 patients were submitted to immunohistochemistry for micrometastases detection. Patients in whom micrometastases were detected in the level I lymph node stations (n = 4) were excluded from further analysis. The level II lymph nodes of the remaining 28 patients were studied immunohistochemically for micrometastases detection and constitute the material of the present study.

RESULTS: Skip micrometastases in the level II lymph nodes were detected in 14% (4 out of 28) of the patients. The incidence was further increased to 17% (4 out of 24) in the subgroup of T1-2 gastric cancer patients. All micrometastases were detected in the No. 7 lymph node station. Thus, the disease was upstaged from stage IA to IB in one patient and from stage IB to II in three patients.

CONCLUSION: In gastric cancer, true R0 resection may not be achieved without modified D2 lymphadenectomy. Until D2+/D3 lymphadenectomy becomes standard, modified D2 lymphadenectomy should be performed routinely.

Pattern of lymph node involvement in proximal gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

The operative methods for proximal gastric cancer differ depending on the institution, thus there is no optimal therapeutic strategy. A splenic hilum lymph node (No. 10) dissection is necessary for D2 operation for proximal gastric cancer, which means it requires splenectomy. However, unnecessary splenectomy should be avoided.

METHODS

A total of 127 proximal gastric cancer cases from our institution were studied retrospectively. In addition, 1,569 cases were collected from the literature and were used as pooled data for further analysis. All cases were examined for the depth of tumor invasion and lymph node metastasis.

RESULTS

A retrospective analysis revealed that proximal gastric cancer within submucosa (40 cases) had no N2 lymph node metastasis in our study. The 5-year overall survival of all cases was 25.2% and the disease-free survival was 23.6%. From the pooled data analysis, No. 10 lymph node metastasis was observed in 0.9% of the patients with submucosa proximal gastric cancer. Furthermore, there was no No. 4d lymph node metastasis when the depth of cancer was limited to within the subserosa.

CONCLUSIONS

Although a randomized, controlled trial concerning survival is necessary, according to this study, there is a possibility that limited resection might be accepted for proximal gastric cancer according to the depth of wall invasion.

In-hospital mortality after stomach cancer surgery in Spain and relationship with hospital volume of interventions

BACKGROUND

There is no consensus about the possible relation between in-hospital mortality in surgery for gastric cancer and the hospital annual volume of interventions. The objectives were to identify factors associated to greater in-hospital mortality for surgery in gastric cancer and to analyze the possible independent relation between hospital annual volume and in-hospital mortality.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients discharged after surgery for stomach cancer during 2001-2002 in four regions of Spain using the Minimum Basic Data Set for Hospital Discharges. The overall and specific in-hospital mortality rates were estimated according to patient and hospital characteristics. We adjusted a logistic regression model in order to calculate the in-hospital mortality according to hospital volume.

RESULTS

There were 3241 discharges in 144 hospitals. In-hospital mortality was 10.3% (95% CI 9.3-11.4). A statistically significant relation was observed among age, type of admission, volume, and mortality, as well as diverse secondary diagnoses or the type of intervention. Hospital annual volume was associated to Charlson score, type of admission, region, length of stay and number of secondary diagnoses registered at discharge. In the adjusted model, increased age and urgent admission were associated to increased in-hospital mortality. Likewise, partial gastrectomy (Billroth I and II) and simple excision of lymphatic structure were associated with a lower probability of in-hospital mortality. No independent association was found between hospital volume and in-hospital mortality

CONCLUSION

Despite the limitations of our study, our results corroborate the existence of patient, clinical, and intervention factors associated to greater hospital mortality, although we found no clear association between the volume of cases treated at a centre and hospital mortality.

Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide, although much geographical variation in incidence exists. Prevention and personalised treatment are regarded as the best options to reduce gastric cancer mortality rates. Prevention strategies should be based on specific risk profiles, including Helicobacter pylori genotype, host gene polymorphisms, presence of precursor lesions, and environmental factors. Although adequate surgery remains the cornerstone of gastric cancer treatment, this single modality treatment seems to have reached its maximum achievable effect for local control and survival. Minimally invasive techniques can be used for treatment of early gastric cancers. Achievement of locoregional control for advanced disease remains very difficult. Extended resections that are standard practice in some Asian countries have not been shown to be as effective in other developed countries. We present an update of the incidence, causes, pathology, and treatment of gastric cancer, consisting of surgery, new strategies with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both, novel treatment strategies using gene signatures, and the effect of caseload on patient outcomes.

Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide, although much geographical variation in incidence exists. Prevention and personalised treatment are regarded as the best options to reduce gastric cancer mortality rates. Prevention strategies should be based on specific risk profiles, including Helicobacter pylori genotype, host gene polymorphisms, presence of precursor lesions, and environmental factors. Although adequate surgery remains the cornerstone of gastric cancer treatment, this single modality treatment seems to have reached its maximum achievable effect for local control and survival. Minimally invasive techniques can be used for treatment of early gastric cancers. Achievement of locoregional control for advanced disease remains very difficult. Extended resections that are standard practice in some Asian countries have not been shown to be as effective in other developed countries. We present an update of the incidence, causes, pathology, and treatment of gastric cancer, consisting of surgery, new strategies with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both, novel treatment strategies using gene signatures, and the effect of caseload on patient outcomes.

Indexes of surgical quality in gastric cancer surgery: experience of an Italian network

BACKGROUND

Short-term results of gastric cancer surgery vary remarkably worldwide, and international surgical quality criteria are urgently needed. To contribute to defining these criteria, we reviewed short-term results of gastrectomy for gastric cancer in three centers of the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer, with an average of 24.7, 29.5, and 18 gastrectomies per year.

METHODS

Between 1988 and 2002, 1,032 patients underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer in Verona, Siena, and Padua. D1, D2, and D3 lymphadenectomy were performed, respectively, in 228, 584, and 220 cases.

RESULTS

The median number of retrieved lymph nodes was 14 (interquartile range 9-18.75) after D1, 29 (21-38) after D2, and 46.5 (37-57) after D3. Fewer than 15 nodes were retrieved in 54.5%, 6.2%, and 1.4% of cases undergoing, respectively, D1, D2, and D3. Adjacent organ removal was rare during D1 (splenectomy: 6.1%, splenopancreasectomy: 1.8%), and quite common during D3 (11.4%, 11.4%). Forty patients (3.9%) died postoperatively. Neither postoperative morbidity nor mortality was significantly associated with extension of lymphadenectomy.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that at least D2 lymphadenectomy is necessary to achieve adequate disease staging (>or=15 nodes retrieved). Spleen and pancreas tail are more frequently removed during D3, but this removal is not associated with higher postoperative morbidity or mortality.

[Not Available]

C. Mariette, G. Piessen, C. Vons Lymph node invasion is the principal prognostic factor in cancers of the stomach and esophagus which have a tendency to early lymphatic spread.The anatomy of regional lymph node groupings is described and standard and extended types of lymphadenectomy are defined. We discuss he role of lymph node dissection - particularly extended lymphadenectomy - and assess whether there is demonstrable benefit in terms of morbidity and mortality, loco-regional recurrence, and survival. Articles from the surgical literature with the highest levels of evidence are analyzed. Practical guidelines for treatment choice are proposed.

[Not Available]

C. Mariette, G. Piessen, C. Vons Lymph node invasion is the principal prognostic factor in cancers of the stomach and esophagus which have a tendency to early lymphatic spread.The anatomy of regional lymph node groupings is described and standard and extended types of lymphadenectomy are defined. We discuss he role of lymph node dissection - particularly extended lymphadenectomy - and assess whether there is demonstrable benefit in terms of morbidity and mortality, loco-regional recurrence, and survival. Articles from the surgical literature with the highest levels of evidence are analyzed. Practical guidelines for treatment choice are proposed.

Does systematic 2-field lymphadenectomy for esophageal malignancy offer a survival advantage? Results from 178 consecutive patients

More extensive resection for esophageal cancer has been reported to improve survival in several series. We compared results from an unselected consecutive cohort of patients undergoing radical esophagectomy, including removal of all periesophageal tissue with a 2-field abdominal and mediastinal lymphadenectomy for esophageal and gastroesophageal malignancy. A prospective electronic database was reviewed for patients with esophageal malignancy undergoing an open esophagectomy between 1991 and 2004. Data were analyzed on an SPSS file (version 12.0, Chicago, IL, USA) using chi(2) or Fisher's exact test; odds ratio and 95% confidence interval; and the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazards regression for survival analysis. There were 178 patients with a median age of 65 years and a 70/30 male to female ratio. Median follow-up was 20.4 months. Pathology comprised adenocarcinoma in 64% of patients, squamous cell carcinoma 30%, and other malignancies 6%. Seventeen patients had neoadjuvant therapy. Hospital mortality was 3.3%. Complete resection was achieved in 87%. Local recurrence occurred at a median of 13 months in 6.7% of patients. Overall 5-year survival was 42%. For patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma the 5-year survival was 47% and 40.3%, respectively, and for patients without nodal involvement it was 71.5%, with one to four nodes involved, 23.5% and with >4 nodes, 5% (P < 0.001). Survival decreased with increasing direct tumor spread (P < 0.001) and pathological stage (P < 0.001). Esophageal resection with systematic 2-field lymphadenectomy can be performed with acceptable operative mortality and favorable survival.