Impact of tumor infiltration pattern into the surrounding tissue on prognosis of the subserosal gastric cancer (pT2b)

Clinicopathologic factors associated with recurrence and long-term survival in node-negative advanced gastric cancer patients

BACKGROUND

despite a better prognosis in node-negative advanced gastric cancer (GC), a proportion of patients have a tumor recurrence within five years and eventually die due to cancer-related causes. The present study aimed to evaluate the predictive factors of tumor recurrence and long-term survival in node-negative advanced GC.

METHODS

a total of 646 node-negative advanced GC patients who underwent a curative gastrectomy in our institution were included in the study. The impact of different clinicopathologic factors on tumor recurrence and overall survival were analyzed.

RESULTS

tumor recurrences were observed in 181 patients and the cumulative recurrence rate at two-years and five-years were 50.8% and 86.2%, respectively. Lymphovascular invasion, advanced T stage (T3-T4) and an inadequate number of retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) were independent predictive factors of tumor recurrence in node-negative advanced GC. Older age, an upper 1/3 tumor, lymphovascular invasion, infiltration growth pattern (INFγ) and the depth of tumor invasion (T4 stage) were independently associated with long-term survival. With regard to node-negative patients with ≥ 15 retrieved LNs, infiltration growth pattern (INFγ) and advanced T stage (T3-T4) were independent risk factors for both tumor recurrence and long-term survival.

CONCLUSION

in addition to lymphovascular invasion, inadequate RLNs and advanced T stage, the prognostic significance of infiltration growth pattern in node-negative advanced GC was especially emphasized. These risk factors should be considered when selecting candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative surveillance.

Prognostic significance of tumour infiltration growth pattern in patients with advanced gastric cancer

Aims

The prognostic significance of infiltration growth pattern (INF) in patients with gastric cancer (GC) remains controversial. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of INF pattern on the prognosis of patients with advanced GC.

Methods

A total of 1455 patients with advanced GC who underwent curative gastrectomy in our institution were retrospectively analysed. All patients were histopathologically classified as INFa/b and INFc pattern according to the Japanese Classification of Gastric Cancer. The prognostic difference between two patterns was compared and clinicopathological features were analysed.

Results

The prognosis of the patients with INFc pattern was poorer than that of those with INFa/b pattern (5-year disease-free survival, INFa/b: 48.4% vs INFc: 33.5%, p < 0.001), even when they were stratified according to lymph node metastasis and the tumour, node, metastases stage. In addition, the subgroup analysis indicated that INFc pattern was significantly associated with poorer prognosis of T2–T3 stage patients (T2, INFa/b: 72.7% vs INFc: 55.4%; T3, INFa/b: 47.4% vs INFc: 33.5%; p<0.001). However, a similar result was not observed among T4a stage patients (INFa/b: 26.8% vs INFc: 24.8%, p>0.05). The prognosis of T2 stage patients with INFc pattern was similar to that of T3 stage patients with INFa/b pattern (p>0.05). Also, there was no significantly prognostic difference between T3 stage patients with INFc pattern and T4a stage patients (p>0.05). The multivariate analysis indicated that INF pattern was an independent prognostic factor for patients with advanced GC (HR 1.259, 95%CI 1.089 to 1.454).

Conclusion

In view of its prognostic significance, histopathological evaluation of INF pattern in surgically resected specimens should be recommended in patients with advanced GC.

Pathological tumor infiltrative pattern and sites of initial recurrence in stage II/III gastric cancer: Propensity score matching analysis of a multi-institutional dataset

Background

Advanced gastric cancer frequently recurs even after radical resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between pathological infiltrative pattern (INF) and initial recurrence patterns in patients with stage II/III gastric cancer using a large multicenter database.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 1098 eligible patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for stage II/III gastric cancer at nine institutions between 2010 and 2014. Patients were categorized into the INF‐a/b and INF‐c groups and adjusted using propensity score matching.

Results

After propensity score matching, 686 patients (343 for each) were classified in the INF‐a/b and INF‐c groups. There were no significant differences in overall and disease‐free survival between the two groups. In the INF‐a/b group, frequencies of recurrence at the peritoneum, lymph node, and liver were equivalent. In contrast, the peritoneum was the most frequent site and accounted for 60% of the total recurrences in the INF‐c group. The cumulative peritoneal recurrence rate was significantly higher in the INF‐c group than in the INF‐a/b group (hazard ratio 2.47). INF‐c was a significant risk factor for peritoneal recurrences in most subgroups including age, sex, macroscopic type, tumor differentiation, and disease stage, and whether the postoperative treatment was given. Multivariate analysis identified INF‐c as an independent risk factor for peritoneal recurrences. The cumulative liver recurrence rate was significantly higher in the INF‐a/b group than in the INF‐c group (hazard ratio 3.44).

Conclusions

INF may represent an important predictor of recurrence patterns after curative resection of stage II/III gastric cancer.

Metastatic pathway-specific transcriptome analysis identifies MFSD4 as a putative tumor suppressor and biomarker for hepatic metastasis in patients with gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) with hepatic metastasis remains a fatal disease. Global expression profiling was conducted using tissues from patients who had GC with synchronous hepatic metastasis, and major facilitator superfamily domain containing 4 (MFSD4) was identified as a candidate biomarker for hepatic metastasis in GC. Functional and expression analyses of this molecule in GC cell lines and clinical samples were conducted. We analyzed MFSD4 expression, DNA methylation, and copy number. RNA interference experiments evaluated the effects of MFSD4 expression on cell phenotype and apoptosis. We analyzed tissues of 200 patients with GC to assess the diagnostic performance of MFSD4 levels for predicting hepatic recurrence, metastasis, or both. Differential expression of MFSD4 mRNA by GC cell lines correlated positively with the levels of NUDT13 and OCLN mRNAs and inversely with those of BMP2. Hypermethylation of the MFSD4 promoter was detected in cells with lower levels of MFSD4 mRNA. Inhibition of MFSD4 expression significantly increased the invasiveness and motility of GC cells but did not influence cell proliferation or apoptosis. MFSD4 mRNA levels in primary GC tissues were reduced in patients with concomitant hepatic metastasis or recurrence compared with those without. Low levels of MFSD4 mRNA in primary GC tissues were an independent risk factor of hepatic recurrence and metastasis. MFSD4 expression in gastric tissues may represent a useful biomarker for identification of patients at high risk for hepatic recurrence, metastasis, or both.

Clinical Implication of the Width of Subserosal Invasion in T3N0 Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of the horizontal width of tumor invasion into the subserosal layer on prognosis in patients with T3N0 gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 72 patients with T3N0 cancer were enrolled. Relapse-free survival of the subgroups classified according to width of subserosal invasion was compared to that of 34 patients with T4aN0 cancer.

RESULTS

The group with wide invasion (≥1.5 cm) had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with narrow invasion (<1.5 cm) (p=0.014). Multivariate analysis revealed the width of subserosal invasion to be an independent prognostic factor. There was no significant difference between the T3N0 group with wide invasion and the T4aN0 group in the prognosis and recurrent status.

CONCLUSION

The malignant potential of T3N0 gastric cancer with wide subserosal invasion was found to be similar to that of T4aN0 cancer.

Clinicopathological significance of gastric poorly differentiated medullary carcinoma

Poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma of solid type is known to show a clinicopathological diversity, but its morphological characteristics have rarely been investigated. In this study, we defined poorly differentiated medullary carcinoma indicating the following three characteristics: (i) more than 90% of the entire tumor were composed of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma in a medullary growth, (ii) the tumor exhibited an expansive growth at the tumor margin, and (iii) special types such as an α-fetoprotein-producing carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma, and carcinoma with lymphoid stroma were excluded. Based on the definition, we subclassified the poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma of solid type into the two groups: medullary carcinoma and non-medullary carcinoma, and clinicopathologically analyzed 23 cases of medullary carcinomas and 38 cases of non-medullary carcinomas. The medullary carcinomas less frequently displayed lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, and lymph node metastasis, compared with the non-medullary carcinoma (P < 0.001, P = 0.002, and P < 0.001, respectively). The patients with medullary carcinomas significantly showed better disease-free survival (P = 0.017). This is the first study to demonstrate that poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of solid type can be subclassified into tumors with low and high malignant potentials. Gastric poorly differentiated medullary carcinoma is considered to be a novel histological type predicting good patients' prognosis.

Tumor Infiltrative Pattern Predicts Sites of Recurrence After Curative Gastrectomy for Stages 2 and 3 Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

In East Asia, the tumor infiltrative pattern (INF) has been routinely evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections as a pathologic characteristic of surgically resected specimens.

METHODS

The infiltrative pattern of gastric cancer (GC) has been histopathologically classified as INFa (expansive growth), INFb (intermediate type) and INFc (infiltrative growth) according to the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma. The prognostic value and characteristics of the disease recurrence pattern for each INF type were assessed in 785 patients with various stages of GC and also in 243 patients with stages 2 and 3 GC.

RESULTS

Comparison of the overall survival experienced by patients independently of stage showed that INF was significantly associated with prognosis. Specifically, peritoneal metastasis was present in 91 % of stage 4 patients in the INFc group, whereas hepatic metastasis was present in 39 % of stage 4 patients in the INFa and INFb group. After curative gastrectomy of patients with stages 2 or 3 GC, INF was not significantly associated with survival. The prevalence of peritoneal recurrence was significantly higher in the INFc group than in the INFa and INFb group, whereas the prevalence of hepatic recurrence was significantly higher in the INFa and INFb group than in the INFc group. Multivariate analysis identified INFc as an independent risk factor for peritoneal recurrence after curative gastrectomy. The association of the INF type with the incidence of peritoneal recurrence was observed with all disease stages regardless whether the patient was given adjuvant chemotherapy or not.

CONCLUSIONS

Evaluation of the INF type shows promise for its role as a predictor of postoperative recurrence sites in patients with GC.

Ki-67 labeling index affects tumor infiltration patterns of lung squamous cell carcinoma

Ki-67 is a nuclear protein that is expressed during the G₁, S, G₂ and M phases of the mitotic cell cycle. A previous study categorized tumor infiltration patterns (INF), of which INFc indicated cancer nests exhibiting infiltrative growth and an unclear boundary between tumor tissue and surrounding healthy tissue. The present study used the Ki-67 labeling index (Ki-67 LI) as an indicator of cell proliferation, in order to examine the factors affecting INF in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). SqCC specimens (89) were classified into two groups: High-grade cell proliferation (Ki-67 LI ≥30%) and low-grade cell proliferation (Ki-67 LI <30%). However, a high Ki-67 LI was significantly associated with cases that had an INFc component [INFc(+); P=0.03]. Univariate analyses indicated that INFc(+) was a predictor of venous invasion [P=0.032; odds ratio (OR), 2.615; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.085–6.305], scirrhous stromal type (P<0.001; OR, 6.462; 95% CI, 2.483–16.817) and high Ki-67 LI (P=0.018; OR, 12.543; 95% CI, 1.531–102.777). Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that high Ki-67 LI was the strongest predictor of INFc(+) (P=0.028; OR, 8.027; 95% CI, 1.248–51.624). In conclusion, high-grade cell proliferation activity may contribute to aggressive infiltrative growth of lung SqCC.

Impact of Intraoperative Macroscopic Diagnosis of Serosal Invasion in Pathological Subserosal (pT3) Gastric Cancer

Purpose

The macroscopic diagnosis of tumor invasion through the serosa during surgery is not always distinct in patients with gastric cancer. The prognostic impact of the difference between macroscopic findings and pathological diagnosis of serosal invasion is not fully elucidated and needs to be re-evaluated.

Materials and Methods

A total of 370 patients with locally advanced pT2 to pT4a gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery were enrolled in this study. Among them, 155 patients with pT3 were divided into three groups according to the intraoperative macroscopic diagnosis of serosal invasion, as follows: serosa exposure (SE)(-) (no invasion, 72 patients), SE(±) (ambiguous, 47 patients), and SE(+) (definite invasion, 36 patients), and the clinicopathological features, surgical outcomes, and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed.

Results

A comparison of the 5-year DFS between pT3_SE(-) and pT2 groups and between pT3_SE(+) and pT4a groups revealed that the differences were not statistically significant. In addition, in a subgroup analysis of pT3 patients, the 5-year DFS was 75.1% in SE(-), 68.5% in SE(±), and 39.4% in SE(+) patients (P<0.05). In a multivariate analysis to evaluate risk factors for tumor recurrence, macroscopic diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR], SE(-) : SE(±) : SE(+)=1 : 1.01 : 2.45, P=0.019) and lymph node metastasis (HR, N0 : N1 : N2 : N3=1 : 1.45 : 2.20 : 9.82, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for recurrence.

Conclusions

Gross inspection of serosal invasion by the surgeon had a strong impact on tumor recurrence in gastric cancer patients. Consequently, the gross appearance of serosal invasion should be considered as a factor for predicting patients' prognosis.

Endoscopic classification can predict the infiltrative growth patterns of early-stage esophageal cancer: a retrospective study of 133 patients at a single academic tertiary care center

The relationships between two endoscopic classification systems (type I and II) and the infiltrative growth patterns (INF) of early esophageal cancers were evaluated. Among type I carcinomas, the INFs were mainly INFb in the polypoid and mixed types, INFa in the superficial type, and INFc in the excavated type. Among type II carcinomas, INFa was the main pattern in the surface-propagating type, whereas INFb was observed in the intraluminal, bilateral, and mixed types. INFb and INFc were observed in the intramural type. Our results indicate that the superficial and surface-propagating types had the weakest infiltrative potential, whereas the excavated and intramural types had the highest infiltrative potential.

Factors associated with peritoneal metastasis in non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer: a retrospective study of a prospectively-collected database

Background

Peritoneal dissemination is the most common type of recurrence in advanced gastric cancer. The main mechanism is thought to be via the exfoliation of free cancer cells (FCCs) from tumor in the gastric serosa. The frequency of recurrence thus increases once the tumor cells penetrate the serosa. However, this type of recurrence also occurs in patients without serosal invasion, though the mechanisms responsible for have not been fully established. We therefore investigated the factors associated with peritoneal dissemination in patients with non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer.

Methods

A total of 685 patients with non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer who underwent curative resection with retrieval of more than 15 nodes were selected. The associations between clinicopathological features and peritoneal dissemination were analyzed. Among them, the tumor infiltrating growth pattern (INF) were classified into α, β and γ according to the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma (JCGC).

Results

The overall incidence of peritoneal metastasis was 20% (137/685). Age, Borrmann type, differentiation, INF, nodal status and free cancer cells (FCCs) were correlated with peritoneal dissemination using univariate analysis. However, only INF, Borrmann type and TNM node stage were identified as independent correlated factors with peritoneal metastasis by multivariate analysis when FCCs were excluded, and these were also prognostic factors. Peritoneal dissemination was more common in patients with INFγ, Borrmann III/IV and N3 stage. Among patients without FCCs, nodal involvement or vessel invasion, only INF remained an independent associated factor according to multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Tumor infiltrating growth pattern (INF), together with Borrmann type and TNM node stage, are important factors associated with peritoneal metastasis in non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer.

Tumor budding is a significant indicator of a poor prognosis in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and patients occasionally develop local recurrence or distant metastasis soon after curative resection. Reports of new therapeutic strategies for lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) are extremely rare, while selective anticancer therapy has been reported for lung adenocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to identify clinicopathological prognostic factors for SqCC. We analyzed tumor budding and infiltrative patterns (INF) in 103 cases of surgically-resected SqCC. Tumor infiltrative patterns were classified into three groups (INFa, b and c) and INFc was infiltrative growth at the tumor invasive front. The cases with an INFc component [INFc(+)]were significantly associated with venous invasion (P=0.014) and the scirrhous stromal type (P<0.001). The overall survival rate of patients with INFc(+) was significantly lower than that of patients without the INFc component [INFc(−); P=0.003]. Tumor budding was defined as a single cancer cell or a small nest of up to four cancer cells within stromal tissue. The cases with tumor budding [Bud(+)] were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.001), lymphatic invasion (P=0.002), INFc(+) (P<0.001) and the scirrhous stromal type (P=0.014). Patients with the Bud(+) type had a lower overall survival rate than patients with the Bud(−) type (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that tumor budding [hazard ratio (HR), 2.766; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.497–5.109] and lymph node metastasis (HR, 1.937; 95% CI, 1.097–3.419) were independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, tumor budding is a significant indicator of a high malignant potential and poor prognosis in SqCC of the lung.