Clinicopathologic differences between early gastric remnant cancer and early primary gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to clarify the clinicopathologic characteristics and survival in early gastric remnant cancer and compare with early primary cancer in the upper third of the stomach. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-five patients with early gastric remnant cancer, who underwent resection at Kanagawa Cancer Center and First Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University between 1974 and 1996 were evaluated in this study. Various clinicopathologic characteristics, such as age, sex, symptoms, size of tumor, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, cell differentiation, and survival were investigated and early gastric remnant cancer was compared with early primary cancer in the upper third of the stomach. RESULTS: According to the macroscopic type, protruded type such as I or II type accounted for a great majority in early gastric remnant cancer, while II c depressed type was common in early primary cancer in the upper third of the stomach, comprising 64.2% of all cases. Pathological examination disclosed that well-differentiated carcinoma and mucosal carcinoma were more frequently observed in early gastric remnant cancer than in early primary cancer in the upper-third of the stomach. The 5-year survival rate was 83.5% for early primary cancer in the upper-third of the stomach. In contrast, no patients experienced recurrence after operation for early gastric remnant cancer. CONCLUSIONS: From the view point of clinicopathological evaluation, gastric remnant cancer is a special from of gastric cancer. A follow-up program is important in order to detect early gastric remnant cancer. A low incidence of lymph node metastasis suggests that endoscopic mucosal resection of the tumor or limited operation could be performed under strict indication.     

Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma in the remnant stomach: de novo and metachronous gastric remnant carcinoma

Background The remnant stomach corresponds to the gastric cardia, but is exposed to a completely different environment. The present study was performed to investigate the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in patients with gastric remnant carcinoma (GRC).Methods Clinicopathological features, gastritis, and infection by EBV were investigated in patients with two types of GRC: GRC occurring at an interval of 10 years or longer between operations (de novo GRC group) and GRC occurring within 10 years after the initial operation for gastric carcinoma (metachronous GRC group).Results EBV involvement in the de novo GRC group (23%) was not significantly different from that in the cardia of non-remnant carcinomas (controls; 18%). EBV involvement showed greater correlations in male patients (18/63; 28%), and in those with gastritis cystica polyposa (GCP; 13/41; 31%), and those with an interval of 20 years or longer (15/50; 30%) than with the other parameters. Multivariate analysis showed a significant correlation between GCP and EBV infection. Histologically, hyperplasia or mild atrophy, and mild lymphocytic infiltration were observed in 56% and 67% of non-neoplastic mucosa of EBV-associated GRC, respectively. In the metachronous GRC group, EBV-encoded mRNA in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH) of 27 pairs of primary gastric carcinomas (GCs) and metachronous GRCs indicated that only six EBV (+) metachronous GRCs were derived from EBV (+) GC.Conclusions Epstein-Barr virus infection, together with long-standing inflammation, which causes GCP, may facilitate the development of de novo GRC. Close follow-up of patients treated with distal gastrectomy for EBV-associated GC is necessary to detect metachronous GRC.     

Intestinal-type tumour in resected gastric remnant cancer

Lauren's intestinal type of gastric cancer was proposed to be dependent on long-term environmental factors and is always preceded by chronic premalignant change. A cohort study was performed and demonstrated an increased cancer risk of gastric remnant after gastric surgery for benign disease. It is generally believed that after gastrectomy the residual stomach has an environmental change and, thus, enters a neoplastic process. Based on the carcinogenic theory of intestinal-type tumour, it would be of interest to know whether the intestinal-type tumour is more common in gastric remnant cancer. Forty patients with gastric remnant cancer had gastrectomy in the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei. Another 683 patients with primary gastric carcinoma underwent resection and were used as controls. The clinical characteristics, tumour stage and intestinal-type tumour were analysed in gastric remnant cancer and were compared with the various portions of primary gastric carcinoma. Although the overall distribution of intestinal-type carcinoma in gastric remnant (45%) was no different to that of any other portion of stomach cancer, intestinal-type carcinoma was more common in the early stage of gastric remnant (73%) and distal stomach (73%), but not in the proximal stomach (50%), which was supposed to have the same characteristics as the gastric remnant because of identical anatomic location. More than expected, intestinal-type carcinoma in early gastric remnant cancer together with a long incubation interval between primary surgery and later tumour occurrence were compatible with the theory of carcinogenesis of intestinal-type carcinoma.     

Krukenberg tumor from gastric mucosal carcinoma without lymphatic or venous invasion: report of a case

A 49-year-old woman was admitted because of early gastric carcinoma. Subtotal gastrectomy was performed. In the resected specimen, gastric mucosal carcinoma without lymph node metastases was located in the prepyloric region. Histologic type was moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma and signetring cell carcinoma, and there was no lymphatic or venous invasion. One year after operation, a left ovarian tumor was detected. At the second operation, bilateral oophorectomy and hysterectomy were performed. Pathological findings revealed Krukenberg tumors originating from the gastric carcinoma in the bilateral ovaries. One year after the second operation, a hard mass due to cancer recurrence developed in the pelvis with symptoms including tenesmus and abdominal pain. Chemotherapy and palliative colostomy were performed. She died of peritonitis carcinomatosa six years and two months after the first operation. We experienced a rare case of Krukenberg tumor with two interesting points; its origin was gastric mucosal carcinoma without lymphatic or venous invasion, and the patient survived for more than four years after the diagnosis.     

Gastric Neoplasia Developed After Proximal Gastrectomy: Report of Three Cases

The incidence of proximal gastric cancer is increasing and proximal gastrectomy is widely accepted as a standard operation for early staged proximal gastric cancer. Recently, we encountered three aged patients with distal gastric cancer or adenoma after proximal gastrectomy: one with mucosal adenocarcinoma and two with adenoma. These patients showed that carcinoma or adenoma could develop in the distal gastric remnant after proximal gastrectomy. Although gastric remnant cancer has been defined as a cancer that arises in the proximal gastric remnant after distal gastrectomy, it hereafter includes a cancer that arises in the distal gastric remnant after proximal gastrectomy. Endoscopic examination of the distal gastric remnant is important in asymptomatic patients who underwent proximal gastrectomy.     

Helicobacter pylori infection, but not mucosal atrophy, significantly affects serum pepsinogen level after gastric cancer surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is frequently observed in the remnant stomach after gastric cancer surgery, and is considered to play one of the important roles in chronic mucosal inflammation and cancer development. METHODOLOGY: Serum pepsinogen (PG) levels were measured in one hundred and eight patients after gastrectomy performed because of gastric cancer. The correlation between PG levels and the grade of mucosal inflammation in the remnant stomach was investigated together with the status of Hp infection. RESULTS: No statistical difference in serum PG level was found according to the severity of reflux gastritis, or grade of mucosal atrophy. Significantly higher serum PG II level and lower PG I/II ratio were found in cases with histologically severe mucosal inflammation than in those without inflammation. In Hp positive cases, PG I level stayed constant while PG II level scored a significantly higher value than those of negative cases. As a result, PG I/II ratio became significantly lower in cases with Hp infection than in those without infection. CONCLUSIONS: Hp infection and active mucosal inflammation, but not bile reflux or mucosal atrophy, significantly affect on the serum PG level in patients with remnant stomach after gastric cancer surgery. Serum PG level was suggested to indicate the grade of acute and chronic Hp-related inflammation in those patients.     

Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma and atrophic gastritis.

Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been reported to be present in some 7% of gastric carcinomas, the nature of the background gastric mucosa of carcinoma has not been elucidated. The authors evaluated the degree of gastritis in the background gastric mucosa of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma. EBV was detected using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded small ribonucleic acid 1 (EBER-1) in carcinoma cells. The authors compared gastritis in surgically resected stomachs with 8 EBER-1-positive and 16 EBER-1-negative gastric carcinomas of a similar histologic type using histologic variables of the Updated Sydney System. All eight lesions of EBER-1-positive gastric carcinomas had intestinal metaplasia in the background. Mild to moderate glandular atrophy was common in both groups. Many of the tested lesions, 87.5% of EBER-1-positive and 62.5% of EBER-1-negative lesions, were located near the mucosal atrophic border. The background gastric mucosa for EBV-associated gastric carcinomas is rich in atrophic changes. EBV-associated gastric carcinomas are located near the mucosal atrophic border.     

Synchronous gastric tumors associated with esophageal cancer

Objective: Synchronous gastric tumors (including benign and secondary tumors) associated with esophageal cancer present diagnostic and therapeutic issues. We investigated this synchronous association, and retrospectively determined the frequency of the gastric tumors and the clinical characteristics.
Methods: In a series of 208 patients with esophageal cancer, we investigated the synchronous gastric tumors, as well as the frequency of association, clinicopathological characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and the clinical outcome after surgery.
Results: Twenty-eight gastric tumors were found in 24 patients. Adenocarcinoma was most frequent. Most of these tumors were located at the upper or middle third of the stomach. Eight gastric tumors in six patients could not be detected preoperatively. Six of these tumors including a gastric remnant cancer were detected in the resected stomach, and two leiomyomas were detected during the operation. In one patient in which an endoscope could not pass through the esophagus, a leiomyoma was detected in the resected stomach. For the gastric cancers, total gastrectomy or proximal gastrectomy with lymph node dissections was performed. For the benign tumors, partial resection of the stomach was performed, and endoscopic resection was performed preoperatively for an adenoma. In both the postoperative hospital mortality rate and the survival rate after surgery, there were no significant differences between the patients with and without gastric tumors.
Conclusions: Synchronous gastric tumors associated with esophageal cancer are not rare. When an endoscope cannot pass through the esophagus before surgery, other techniques must be performed to explore the stomach. For these patients, surgical treatment should be adapted positively.     

A case of gastric metastasis of breast carcinoma resembling early gastric cancer]

Many patients suffering from breast carcinoma have metastases at initial diagnosis. The common metastatic sites are skeleton, liver and lung. Metastases to stomach are rare and only three cases have been reported in Korea. The endoscopic features of gastric metastases from breast carcinoma can be divided into three main categories: diffuse infiltration, external compression, and localized tumor deposition with ulceration or with a polypoid mass. However, metastatic gastric lesions which resemble early gastric carcinoma are rare. Typically, gastric metastases are confined to submucosa and muscularis, so that mucosal biopsy specimens might be false-negative. We report a case of gastric metastasis from infiltrative lobular carcinoma of the breast in a 66-year-old woman who had undergone left mastectomy with postoperative radiotherapy 17 years earlier. Initial diagnosis was early gastric carcinoma, signet ring cell type on gastric biopsy findings. However, definitive diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer was confirmed after endoscopic mucosal resection of a presumed primary early gastric carcinoma.     

Second cancer during long-term survival after resection of biliary tract carcinoma

Curative surgery for biliary tract malignancy has improved the prognosis of patients; however, during long-term follow up after extensive surgery, four of our patients (two with gallbladder carcinoma and two with bile duct carcinoma) developed a second primary cancer (one each in the duodenum, skin, descending colon, and lung). Regular examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract, colorectum, and lungs, and testing for tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen and CA19-9) were performed as follow-up studies. As a result, the second cancers were all found at a relatively early stage and all four patients are still alive 6–14 years after the initial operation. A review of the annual autopsy reports over the last 5 years in Japan showed that the incidence of second cancer was 14.8% in patients with gallbladder carcinoma and 13.5% in those with bile duct carcinoma. Furthermore, the rate of second gastric and colorectal carcinoma was significantly higher in patients with primary bile duct cancer than in those with primary gallbladder cancer. In conclusion, the incidence of a second cancer after resection of biliary tract malignancy is more than 10%, but this second cancer can be detected relatively easily and treated at an early stage during the course of regular long-term follow up for the first cancer.     

Higher incidence of gastric remnant cancer after proximal than distal gastrectomy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Proximal gastrectomy has been widely accepted as a standard operation for early stage gastric cancer located in the upper third of the stomach. Therefore, cancer of the distal gastric remnant is now increasing. The aims of this study were to clarify and compare the incidences of gastric remnant cancer after proximal and distal gastrectomy. METHODOLOGY: Data on a consecutive series of 809 cases of gastrectomy performed for early gastric cancer from 1991 to 2003 in Shikoku Cancer Center were analyzed retrospectively with respect to the incidence of gastric remnant cancer. RESULTS: We performed distal gastrectomy in 624 patients and proximal gastrectomy in 47 patients during the study period. After those operations, the gastric remnants of 457 cases and 33 cases, respectively, were surveyed periodically by endoscopic examination at our hospital. Among those surveyed cases, 10 patients (2.2%) and 3 patients (9.1%) were diagnosed as having gastric remnant cancer, respectively. The gastric remnant cancer-free survival after proximal gastrectomy was significantly lower than that after distal gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the higher incidence of gastric remnant cancer after proximal gastrectomy, it is more important to survey the gastric remnant after proximal gastrectomy periodically by postoperative endoscopic examination.     

Early gastric cancer with Krukenberg tumor and review of cases of intramucosal gastric cancers with Krukenberg tumor

A 47-year-old woman was admitted because of hypermenorrhea. Transvaginal ultrasonography revealed an ovarian tumor and myoma uteri, and total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. Histology revealed signet-ring cell carcinoma in the right ovary. In order to find out the primary site of this tumor, gastroendoscopy was performed after the operation, and showed a IIc lesion in the lower body of the stomach; biopsy specimens showed signet-ring cell carcinoma similar to that in the right ovary. Total gastrectomy revealed that the lesion was an early gastric cancer confined to the mucosa, but there was lymphatic invasion slightly beneath the muscularis mucosa, with regional lymph node metastasis. In the light of a review of the seven cases of early gastric cancer with Krukenberg tumor previously reported, lymphatic metastasis seemed to be the most likely pathway of ovarian metastasis in early gastric cancers.     

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastric stump:A case report and literature review

We herein report a case of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastric stump found 47 years after Billroth II gastric resection for a benign gastric ulcer. A 74-yearold man was referred to another hospital with melena. Endoscopic examination revealed a localized ulcerative lesion at the gastrojejunal anastomosis. The diagnosis by endoscopic biopsy was neuroendocrine carcinoma. A total gastrectomy of the remnant stomach with D2 lymphadenectomy was performed at our hospital. The lesion invaded the subserosa, and metastasis was found in two of nine the lymph nodes retrieved. The lesion was positive for synaptophysin and chromogranin A, and the Ki-67 labeling index was 60%. The diagnosis of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastric stump was confirmed using World Health Organization 2010 criteria. Subsequently, the patient underwent one course of adjuvant chemotherapy with the etoposide plus cisplatin(EP) regimen; however, treatment was discontinued due to grade 3 myelosuppression. The patient showed lymph node metastasis in the region around the gastrojejunal anastomosis in the abdominal cavity 7 mo post-surgery. He then underwent radiotherapy and platinum-based combination chemotherapy; however, the disease progressed and liver recurrence was observed on follow-up computedtomography at 16 mo post-surgery. The patient then received chemotherapy with regimens used for the treatment of small cell lung cancer in first-and secondline settings. The patient died of disease progression 31 months after surgery.     

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in advanced gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND: [corrected] There is substantial evidence that infection with Helicobacter pylori plays a role in the development of gastric cancer and that it is rarely found in gastric biopsy of atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer. On advanced gastric tumors, the bacteria can be lost from the stomach. AIMS: To analyze the hypothesis that the prevalence of H.pylori in operated advanced gastric carcinomas and adjacent non-tumor tissues is high, comparing intestinal and diffuse tumors according to Lauren's classification METHODS: A prospective controlled study enrolled 56 patients from "Hospital Universitário", Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil, with advanced gastric cancer, treated from February 2000 to March 2003. Immediately after partial gastrectomy, the resected stomach was opened and several mucosal biopsy samples were taken from the gastric tumor and from the adjacent mucosa within 4 cm distance from the tumor margin. Tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Lauren's classification for gastric cancer was used, to analyse the prevalence of H. pylori in intestinal or diffuse carcinomas assessed by the urease rapid test, IgG by ELISA and Giemsa staining. H. pylori infected patients were treated with omeprazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin for 7 days. Follow-up endoscopy and serology were performed 6 months after treatment to determine successful eradication of H. pylori in non-tumor tissue. Thereafter, follow-up endoscopies were scheduled annually. Chi-square and MacNemar tests with 0.05 significance were used. RESULTS: Thirty-four tumors (60.7%) were intestinal-type and 22 (39.3%) diffuse type carcinomas. In adjacent non-tumor gastric mucosa, chronic gastritis were found in 53 cases (94.6%) and atrophic mucosa in 36 patients (64.3%). All the patients with atrophic mucosa were H. pylori positive. When examined by Giemsa and urease test, H. pylori positive rate in tumor tissue of intestinal type carcinomas was higher than that in diffuse carcinomas. In tumor tissues, 34 (60.7%) H. pylori-positive in gastric carcinomas were detected by Giemsa method. H. pylori was observed in 30 of 56 cases (53.5%) in tissues 4 cm adjacent to tumors. This difference was not significant. Eradication of H. pylori in non-tumor tissue of gastric remnant led to a complete negativity on the 12th postoperative month CONCLUSIONS: The data confirmed the hypothesis of a high prevalence of H. pylori in tumor tissue of gastric advanced carcinomas and in adjacent non-tumor mucosa of operated stomachs. The presence of H. pylori was predominant in the intestinal-type carcinoma.     

Choice of the surgical treatment in early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The authors report their experience in choosing the surgical treatment for early gastric cancer. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective study was conducted to examine the long-term outcome of 18 patients with early gastric cancer (10%) on a series of 180 patients treated for gastric carcinoma by the same surgical équipe from January 1986 to June 1997. Radical surgery with gastrectomy and extended lymphadenectomy ("regional" from 1986 to 1991; D2 from 1992 to 1997) was chosen as standard treatment for early gastric cancer except in elderly or high-risk patients and in cases of mucosal tumors diagnosed at definitive histology after surgery for benign diseases in which limited surgery was performed. RESULTS: All patients received curative (R0) surgery. One patient with mucosal-N1 tumor and another one with submucosal-N0 tumor died because of gastric cancer at 51 and 42 postoperative months respectively. The mean follow-up time was 99.8 (11-193) months. The overall 5-year and 10-year survival rates are 86.7% and 86.7% respectively. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for intramucosal tumors are 91% and 91% respectively and for submucosal cancer are 75% and 75% (P=0.39). CONCLUSIONS: According to the prognostic value of nodal involvement and the difficulty in achieving a preoperative accurate diagnosis of depth of invasion and of nodal involvement in early gastric cancer, a radical gastric resection with D2-lymphadenectomy should be performed.     

Carbohydrate antigen 19‐9‐producing early protruded gastric carcinoma prolapsing into the duodenal bulb

The patient was an 81‐year‐old man who was admitted to the Arita Gastrointestinal Hospital for anemia. Upper gastrointestinal series and endoscopic examinations revealed transpyloric prolapse of a pedunculated polypoid gastric carcinoma with an abnormal mucosal fold from the posterior wall of the lesser curvature of the gastric antrum. Biopsy and histological examination led to a diagnosis of papillary adenocarcinoma. The incarcerated tumor could not be restored endoscopically into the stomach, the lesion head was ulcerated, and the serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19‐9 was elevated to 379.7 U/mL. Surgery was indicated. Intraoperatively, the tumor was found in the duodenal bulb; it was easily manipulated into the stomach, and distal gastrectomy was performed. The tumor, 5.0 × 4.2 × 2.5 cm, was diagnosed histologically as papillary adenocarcinoma of the stomach infiltrating into the submucosal layer. The carcinoma cells stained positively for CA19‐9 antibody. The postoperative course was uneventful, the anemia improved, and the serum CA19‐9 level decreased to within normal range. The patient remains alive 15 months after the surgery. This may be the first report of a patient with Type 0 I early gastric cancer characterized by both CA19‐9 production and transpyloric prolapse.     

Early carcinoma of the stomach after gastric surgery: comparison with early carcinoma in the non-operated stomach

The relationships between the gross and histological types of early gastric carcinoma and non tumorous gastric mucosa were investigated in 12 cases of carcinoma of the stomach after operation and 46 cases of cardiac carcinoma within 5 cm of the squamocolumnar junction. Histological studies were made by examining specimens obtained by gastrectomy. Grossly elevated and histologically differentiated carcinomas were statistically more frequent after gastric surgery, than before. Comparison between cases of elevated and differentiated adenocarcinoma that had undergone gastric surgery with those that had not showed that atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia in the surrounding mucosa of the tumor were significantly slighter after gastric operation than in unoperated cases. Results suggested that early carcinomas developing after gastric surgery are different from those in the upper portion of the unoperated stomach.     

Pachydermoperiostosis associated with juvenile polyps of the stomach and gastric adenocarcinoma

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP) is a rare syndrome, and the presence of digital clubbing, radiographic periostosis, and coarse facial features are the main diagnostic criteria. Here, we report patient with the primary form of PDP in whom juvenile polyps and gastric cancer developed within 9 years of follow-up. A 27-year-old Japanese man, diagnosed as having the primary form of PDP at 14 years of age, was referred to our department for assessment of chronic anemia. On upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination, multiple polypoid lesions with a huge polyp were found in the stomach, and biopsy findings indicated juvenile polyps, although no polypoid lesion had been present at the age of 18 years. Bleeding from these polyps was suspected, and endoscopic mucosal resection of the polypoid lesions was performed. Histology of the huge polyp showed hamartoma, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma in part. This is the first case report of the primary form of PDP associated with gastric cancer. In this patient, juvenile polyps and gastric cancer developed within 9 years of follow-up, indicating that the primary form of PDP may be a high risk factor for gastric cancer, and that periodical follow-up with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is important.     

Expression of pituitary tumor transforming gene in human gastric carcinoma

AIM: Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG1) is overexpressed in a variety of tumors, including carcinomas of the lung, breast, colon, as well as in leukemia, lymphoma and pituitary adenomas. However, there is little information on its expression in gastric carcinoma. We sought to investigate the expression of PTTG1 in gastric carcinoma and to explore the relationship between its expression and clinicopathological factors. METHODS: We studied 75 primary human gastric adenocarcinomas, including 17 mucosal carcinomas, 21 submucosal infiltrative carcinomas, 12 carcinomas invading proprial muscle layers, 6 carcinomas reaching the subserosa, and 19 carcinomas penetrating the serosal surface. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using paraffin-embedded sections of gastric adenocarcinomas. RESULTS: PTTG1 was expressed heterogeneously in carcinomas. Positive PTTG1 staining was observed in 65.3% of the carcinomas (49 of 75). Its expression did not correlate significantly with either the histological type or the depth of infiltration of the gastric carcinomas. However, a statistical analysis showed significant differences between the primary adenocarcinomas and the associated metastatic lymph nodes. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that PTTG1 expression is enhanced in metastatic lymph nodes in comparison to that in primary carcinomas. We suggest that PTTG1 may contribute to lymph node metastases in gastric carcinoma.     

Early cancer of the gastric remnant--with special emphasis on the importance of follow-up of gastrectomized patients.

Seven patients with early cancer of the gastric remnant (group 1) and nine with gastric remnant cancer which developed after surgery for early gastric cancer (group 2), were studied clinicopathologically. The findings can be summarized as follows: In group 1, the majority of cases were classified as type I by gross type. Most lesions were in the posterior wall of the remnant stomach. All lesions were differentiated carcinomas. In group 2, of the nine early gastric tumors resected at the initial surgery, six were present at site A and three at site M. The gross type of the tumor was varied. Six patients underwent a Billroth II, and two a Billroth I, resection. The findings at the second operation (for gastric remnant cancer) showed that five lesions were located in the gastric stump or anastomosed region and four in the posterior or anterior wall of the remnant stomach. Histologically, the lesions included four undifferentiated and five differentiated carcinomas. Of the nine lesions involving the gastric remnant, only two were at an early stage, the remaining seven being at an advanced stage. The outcome was extremely poor in this group. Many of the patients died of carcinomatous peritonitis. In summary, a large percentage of the patients of group 1 had a type I lesion in the remnant stomach. In group 2, more than half of the lesions were located in the gastric stump or at the site of the anastomosis, and the majority of the lesions were at an advanced stage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)