宫颈癌淋巴结转移风险的临床及预后分析

目的:探索临床病理因素及血清肿瘤标志物与总体宫颈癌盆腔淋巴结转移的关系及淋巴结转移对预后的影响。方法:收集386例Ⅰa-Ⅱb期宫颈癌住院手术患者的临床资料,血清肿瘤标志物水平,对淋巴结转移及预后的高危因素进行单因素与多因素分析。结果:总体盆腔淋巴结转移率为25.0%（89/356）;肿瘤直径≥4cm（OR=2.778,95%CI:1.410-5.131,P=0.001）,术前SSCAg水平>3ng/ml(OR=2.645,95%CI:1.106-4.673,P=0.019)是盆腔淋巴结转移的独立危险因素。病理类型（RR=3.638,95%CI:1.146-5.891,P=0.002）、FIGO分期（RR=2.672,95%CI:1.063-6.367,P=0.007）、SSCAg(RR=2.187,95%CI:1.121-4.287,P=0.001）对预后有影响。结论:肿瘤直径、术前SSCAg水平是盆腔淋巴结转移的独立危险因素,病理类型、FIGO分期及SSCAg水平是影响宫颈癌盆腔淋巴结转移患者预后的独立危险因素。     

手术治疗胃肠间质瘤患者的预后分析

目的探究手术治疗胃肠间质瘤患者的预后影响因素。方法回顾性分析56例胃肠间质瘤术后患者的临床病理资料,采用Log-rank检验和Cox比例风险模型对其影响因素进行单因素分析和多因素分析。结果 56例患者随访时间为1~38个月,中位时间为17个月,其中4例复发,2例转移,8例死亡。1、3、5年生存率分别为94.6%(53/56)、89.3%(50/56)、82.1%(46/56)。单因素分析结果显示:年龄、肿瘤直径、核分裂象和肿瘤是否破裂与患者的预后相关(P均<0.05)。多因素分析结果显示:肿瘤直径大小(RR=6.600,95%CI=2.830~15.390)、核分裂象(RR=8.457,95%CI=2.855~25.049)和肿瘤是否破裂(RR=6.586,95%CI=1.792~24.202)是胃肠间质瘤术后患者预后的独立影响因素。结论肿瘤大小、核分裂象和肿瘤是否破裂是影响胃肠间质瘤术后患者预后的重要指标。     

新疆地区164例胃癌根治术后患者预后因素分析

目的:研究新疆地区胃癌根治术后患者的临床因素以及术后治疗对预后产生的影响.方法:对2003-01-2009-12新疆医科大学第一附属医院收治的胃癌根治术后患者164例进行回顾性分析,采用Kaplan-Meier法计算患者的生存率,用Log-rank检验进行单因素分析,应用Cox模型进行预后的多因素分析.结果:共82例患者死亡,中位随访时间28.0个月,1年累积生存率为78.7％(129/164),3年为42.1％(69/164),5年为6.7％(11/164),中位生存时间40.1个月.单因素分析显示,性别、民族、临床分期、浸润深度、淋巴结转移、网膜转移、组织学分化、肿瘤部位、切缘残留、肿瘤大小、脉管侵犯和术后治疗情况与预后相关,P＜0.05;多因素分析证实,网膜转移(RR=8.564,P＜0.01)、淋巴结转移(RR=4.092,P＜0.01)、切缘残留(RR=3.282,P=0.002)、民族(RR=2.152,P=0.013)、浸润深度(RR=2.071,P=0.022)和肿瘤部位(RR=0.680,P=0.010)是影响胃癌预后独立的危险因子.结论:胃癌根治术后影响预后的独立因素按RR从高到低依次为网膜转移、淋巴结转移、切缘残留、民族、浸润深度和肿瘤部位.     

早期胃癌淋巴结转移的特点及危险因素分析

目的 探讨早期胃癌淋巴结转移的临床特点及其发生的危险因素。方法 对2014年1月至2018年12月在江苏省人民医院经病理诊断为早期胃癌并接受胃切除术和淋巴结清扫的892例患者临床资料进行回顾性分析。根据有无发生淋巴结转移,将早期胃癌患者分为两组(无淋巴结转移组、淋巴结转移组),比较两组患者的基本资料、病灶内镜下特征及病理学特征,采用Logistic回归分析早期胃癌淋巴结转移的危险因素。结果 9 004例胃癌患者中,早期胃癌患者为892例(9.9%),淋巴结转移率为11.2%。早期胃癌淋巴结转移与年龄、性别、肿瘤部位、肿瘤大小、大体类型、浸润深度、分化类型、组织学形态、脉管浸润和TNM分期相关;多因素分析结果显示,黏液腺癌(OR=3.265,95%CI:1.258～8.470,P=0.049),发生脉管浸润(OR=12.213,95%CI:4.454～33.489,P<0.001)是早期胃癌淋巴结转移独立危险因素。结论 黏液腺癌和出现脉管浸润的早期胃癌患者可能具有更高的淋巴结转移风险,建议对出现以上危险因素的早期胃癌患者进行全面评估以决定治疗方案。     

手术治疗Ⅱ期非小细胞肺癌患者预后因素分析

目的:探讨手术治疗Ⅱ期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)患者的预后因素。方法:回顾性分析我院93例手术治疗的Ⅱ期NSCLC患者的临床资料,将可能对患者的术后5年生存率产生影响的预后因素进行统计学分析。结果:单因素生存分析结果显示,新TNM分期(P=0.049)、清除的淋巴结总数(P=0.047)、N1淋巴结数(P=0.038)、清除N2淋巴结数(P=0.040)、清除N1淋巴结组数(P=0.015)、清除N1淋巴结转移率(P=0.044)和第10组淋巴结转移与否(P=0.002)与患者的术后5年生存率相关;多因素生存分析结果显示,N1淋巴结转移率(P=0.032,RR=2.191,95%CI为1.072～4.480)、第10组淋巴结转移与否(P=0.016,RR=0.443,95%CI为0.228～0.860)是影响患者术后5年生存率的独立预后因素。N1淋巴结转移率>50%的患者,其死亡风险是N1淋巴结转移率≤50%的患者的2.19倍;第10组淋巴结转移患者的死亡风险是未转移患者的2.26倍。结论:对Ⅱ期NSCLC患者进行手术治疗时,清除的淋巴结总数>6个、N1淋巴结>5个及>3组及N2淋巴结>2个有可能提高患者的术后5年生存率。     

淋巴结转移阴性早期胃癌的临床病理特点及预后分析

目的:探讨淋巴结转移阴性早期胃癌的临床病理特点及其预后因素,为临床治疗提供理论依据。方法:回顾性分析1983年1 月～2003年12月河北医科大学附属邢台人民医院肿瘤外科收治132 例淋巴结转移阴性早期胃癌患者的临床病理特征与预后的关系。结果:淋巴结转移阴性与淋巴结转移阳性早期胃癌在肿瘤直径和浸润深度组间有显著性差异（P<0.05）。 两者在性别、年龄、家族史、肿瘤数目、肿瘤部位、大体类型和组织学类型分组中有显著性差异（P>0.05）。 本组获随访126 例,6 例失访,随访率为95.5% 。3 年生存率为91.3%（115/126）,5 年生存率为84.9%（107/126）。 单因素分析经Kaplan-Merier 分析筛选出浸润深度与淋巴结转移阴性早期胃癌预后关系密切（P=0.001）。 结果表明浸润深度是淋巴结阴性早期胃癌的独立预后因素。黏膜内癌患者的生存率与黏膜下癌者比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。 结论:浸润深度是淋巴结转移阴性早期胃癌的独立预后因素。术前或术中正确评估早期胃癌的淋巴结转移状态是选择合理的治疗方案和改善预后的重要条件。      

淋巴结转移率在T3期胃癌预后中的临床意义（附347例）

目的:探讨T3期胃癌患者淋巴结转移率的影响因素及淋巴结转移率对于预后生存的临床意义。方法:回顾性分析2007年1月至2010年12月期间哈尔滨医科大学肿瘤医院347例接受手术治疗的T3期胃癌患者的临床病理资料,通过χ2检验分析淋巴结转移率与相关临床病理因素之间的关系;Logistic回归分析淋巴结转移率的影响因素;利用Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线图以及Log-rank检验比较不同组间患者生存率的差异;采用Cox比例风险回归模型对患者预后进行分析。结果:与淋巴结转移率≤28.66%组相比,淋巴结转移率>28.66%组患者肿瘤病理分型较差［93.3%(127/136) vs 76.8%(162/211),P=0.000］,肿瘤位于全胃的比例较高［12.5%(17/136) vs 3.8%(8/211),P=0.002］,肿瘤直径较大［49.3%(67/136) vs 27.5%(58/211),P=0.000］,血清CEA浓度较高［33.1%(45/136) vs 22.7%(48/211),P=0.034］,远处器官发生转移的几率较大［11.0%(15/136) vs 2.4%(5/211),P=0.001］。Logistic回归分析表明:肿瘤位置(全胃)、肿瘤直径(>6.1 cm)、病理分化类型(分化较差)、血清CEA水平(>5 ng/ml)、血清白蛋白浓度(≤40 g/L)是导致淋巴结转移率较高的危险因素(均P<0.05)。随访期间内有233例(67.1%)患者因肿瘤进展死亡;术后5年生存率为33.1%。单因素分析表明:年龄≤60岁、根治性手术、肿瘤单发、淋巴结转移率≤28.66%、M0、肿瘤直径≤6.1 cm、血清CA19-9≤37 U/ml的T3期胃癌患者预后较好(均P<0.05),而淋巴结的清扫数目并不影响患者的预后生存(P=0.089);多因素分析显示:年龄［HR(95%CI):1.487(1.139~1.941),P=0.004］、手术［HR(95%CI):1.741(1.205~2.515),P=0.003］、淋巴结转移率［HR(95%CI):3.053(2.293~4.065),P=0.000］、是否发生远处转移［HR(95%CI):1.766(1.043~2.991),P=0.034］是T3期胃癌患者的预后独立危险因素。结论:淋巴结转移率是影响T3期胃癌患者预后的独立危险因素,而肿瘤位置、病理分化类型、肿瘤直径、血清CEA浓度、远处器官发生转移是淋巴结转移率的影响因素。因此,对于T3期的胃癌患者,术前可以通过相关血液、影像检查,对患者的淋巴结转移率及预后进行准确而有效的评估。     

肿瘤坏死与结肠癌预后的关系

目的:探讨结肠癌组织中肿瘤坏死程度与结肠癌临床病理学特征和预后之间的关系。方法:对132例HE染色的结肠癌病理组织切片标本评估肿瘤坏死程度,分析肿瘤坏死程度和临床病理学特征及预后之间的关系。结果:肿瘤坏死程度与有无淋巴结转移（P=0.037）和临床分期显著相关（P=0.037）,与性别、年龄、肿瘤侵袭深度、远处转移、组织学类型、组织学分级无关。单因素生存分析显示肿瘤坏死面积小于整个肿瘤面积10%的患者较大于和等于10%的患者总生存期明显延长（P=0.014）。多因素分析结果表明肿瘤坏死程度是结肠癌患者总生存时间独立的预后因素（HR=2.162,95%CI=1.032~4.531,P=0.041）。结论:肿瘤坏死可能参与结肠癌的发展,是结肠癌病人独立的预后因素。     

早期胃癌的临床病理特征及预后分析

目的分析早期胃癌的临床病理特征与预后之间的关系。方法回顾性分析1994年1月至2005年10月间,在我院实施D2根治术且资料完整的255例早期胃癌患者的临床资料,采用Kaplan-Meier法进行生存分析,Logrank检验进行统计学比较,Cox比例风险模型进行多因素分析。结果 255例患者的5年生存率为91.4%。单因素分析显示,肿瘤浸润深度、脉管瘤栓和区域淋巴结转移与患者术后生存率有关;而性别、年龄、肿瘤大小、肿瘤位置、大体类型、分化程度与术后生存率无关。多因素分析显示,区域淋巴结转移是影响预后的独立危险因素。结论伴有区域淋巴结转移的早期胃癌患者预后较差,标准胃癌根治性手术后应接受综合治疗并严密随访。     

三阴性乳腺癌组织Ki-67指数预后价值分析

目的 Ki-67是细胞增殖的相关抗原,Ki-67指数是区分乳腺癌Luminal A型和Luminal B型的重要生物学指标,高Ki-67指数往往预示着不良的预后.然而在三阴性乳腺癌(triple negative breast cancer,TNBC)中,Ki-67预后价值尚不明确.本研究旨在探讨TNBC中Ki-67指数的预后价值.方法 回顾性分析郑州大学附属肿瘤医院2009-01-06-2010-12-30收治的310例经病理确诊为TNBC并有完整资料和随访数据患者的临床及病理资料,分析Ki-67指数等指标对患者生存预后影响.利用SPSS 17.0软件,计数资料比较采用χ2检验.Ki-67诊断价值及截断值采用ROC曲线进行分析.生存分析采用Kaplan-Meier法,并进行Log-rank检验.多因素分析采用Cox比例风险模型.结果 中位随访时间65个月(3~81个月),310例乳腺癌患者中复发68例(21.9%),死亡49例(15.8%),其中48例死于乳腺癌(15.5%).Ki-67指数与患者月经状态(χ2=8.484,P=0.014)、肿瘤大小(χ2=17.580,P=0.007)、腋窝淋巴结状态(χ2=30.071,P<0.001)以及组织学分级(χ2=17.626,P=0.001)均相关.低(Ki-67≤20%)、中(20%50%)5年无病生存率(disease-free survival,DFS)分别为96.5%、87.3%和64.9%,差异有统计学意义,P<0.001;5年总生存率(overall survival,OS)分别为96.5%、90.2%和75.5%,差异有统计学意义,P<0.001.Ki-67评价TNBC患者DFS及OS的ROC曲线下面积分别为0.707和0.689,Ki-67评价预后最佳截断值为57.5%.单因素分析中,Ki-67指数(χ2=31.779,P<0.001)、肿瘤大小(χ2=140.260,P<0.001)、腋窝淋巴结状态(χ2=120.467,P<0.001)和组织学分级(χ2=8.765,P=0.012)是影响TNBC患者DFS的相关因素,Ki-67指数(χ2=18.218,P<0.001)、肿瘤大小(χ2=299.718,P<0.001)、腋窝淋巴结状态(χ2=68.794,P<0.001)和组织学分级(χ2=7.572,P=0.023)是影响TNBC患者OS的相关因素;多因素分析中,Ki-67指数(HR=2.074,95%CI:1.279~3.364,P=0.003)、肿瘤大小(RR=1.879,95%CI:1.152~3.062,P=0.011)和腋窝淋巴结状态(RR=2.345,95%CI:1.825~3.015,P<0.001)是影响患者DFS的独立因素,Ki-67指数(RR=1.752,95%CI:1.020~3.008,P=0.042)、肿瘤大小(RR=20.011,95%CI:1.132~3.574,P=0.017)和腋窝淋巴结状态(RR=2.021,95%CI:1.517~2.693,P<0.001)是影响患者OS的独立因素.结论 Ki-67指数与TNBC患者预后相关,高Ki-67指数患者预后不良,Ki-67指数有望成为判断TNBC患者预后的一项重要生物学指标.     

Involvement of three or more lymph nodes predicts poor prognosis in submucosal gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Multivariate analyses has shown that the status of lymph node metastasis and the depth of tumor penetration through the gastric wall are the most important prognostic factors in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma after curative operation. A clinicopathological study was carried out to clarify a simple and optimal prognostic indicator for early gastric cancer. METHODS: Retrospective analyses of 982 patients with early gastric cancer (562 with mucosal [M] and 420 with submucosal [SM] tumor) treated by gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection were performed. RESULTS: The incidence of lymph node metastasis from M and SM tumors was 2.5% (14/562) and 20.2% (85/420), respectively. There were no apparent prognostic indicators in patients with M tumors. In patients with SM tumors, the cancer-specific 5-year survival of those with lymph node metastasis was significantly lower than that of those without such metastasis (77.6% vs 98.2%; P < 0.001). An sharp decrease in survival was seen between patients with two positive nodes and those with three positive nodes, and the cancer-specific 5-year survival rate of patients with three or more metastatic lymph nodes was significantly lower than that of those with one or two nodes (P < 0.001; univariate analysis). Multivariate analysis revealed that the involvement of three or more lymph nodes was the sole independent prognostic determinant (P = 0.016); the level of nodal metastasis was not an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.384). All patients with N2 lymph node echelons (according to the Japanese Research Society for Gastric Cancer classification of the draining lymph nodes of the stomach) in the group with one or two positive nodes survived for more than 5 years. CONCLUSION: The sole independent prognostic factor in SM gastric cancer is the involvement of three or more metastatic lymph nodes. We suggest that this simple prognostic indicator for the follow-up of early gastric cancer, and this could lead to potentially effective adjuvant chemotherapy.     

Long-Term Outcomes after D2 Gastrectomy for Early Gastric Cancer: Survival Analysis of a Single-Center Experience in China

Background: Early gastric cancer (EGC) is well accepted as having a favorable prognosis, but some patients experience an ominous outcome after curative resection. This study was aimed at evaluating predictive factors associated with prognosis of D2 gastrectomies in patients with early gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 518 patients with early gastric cancer who underwent D2 gastrectomies were reviewed in this study. The clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes were analyzed. The survival rate was estimated using theKaplan-Meier method and compared by log rank test. Prognostic factors were analyzed using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The 5-year survival rate was 90.3%. Tumor infiltration, lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion were significant prognostic factors for survival. Gender, age, tumor size, tumor location, macroscopic type and histological type were not significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis indicated that lymph node metastasis was an independent poor prognosis factor. Conclusions: Earlygastric cancers with lymph node metastasis have a relatively poor prognosis after standard surgery. Even after curative resection, patients with EGC with positive lymph nodes should be closely followed and be considered as candidates for comprehensive therapies.     

早期胃癌的淋巴结转移规律及预后分析

目的 分析早期胃癌的临床病理特征与预后之间的关系及早期胃癌的淋巴结转移规律.方法 对1994年1月～2005年10月手术治疗并有完整资料的255例早期胃癌的临床病理学资料进行回顾性分析.结果 255例患者的总5年生存率为91.4%.单因素分析显示,肿瘤浸润深度、脉管瘤栓和区域淋巴结转移与患者术后生存率有关;而性别、年龄...     

Clinicopathological features and outcome of surgical treatment of 149 patients with early (pT1) gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists concerning the definition of, treatment approach to, prognostic factors of and survival data on early gastric cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 149 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for carcinoma between 1972 and 2002 and were classified as having early gastric cancer (T1Nany) were included into a retrospective study. Patients were followed for a median of 5.5 years. RESULTS: We observed an increase in the incidence of early gastric cancer from 7.7% in the 1970s to 22.2% in the 1990s. None of the patients with mucosal tumors had lymph node metastases while 18 (20%) submucosal tumors were node positive. Multivariate analysis of all patients identified depth of tumor infiltration as the only independent risk factor for lymph node metastases. The analysis has shown that none of the clinicopathological features are reliable predictors of nodal status in patients with submucosal invasion. Patients with early gastric cancer had a very good prognosis, 10-year disease-specific survival was 80% or more in all subgroups of patients except for node-positive tumors. Depth of the tumor invasion, lymph node status as well as sex were found to be independent prognostic factors for overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Early gastric cancer has a very good prognosis after standard surgery. Our data support the use of conservative limited surgical procedures for appropriate patients with mucosal gastric cancer. Patients with submucosal lesions require the same treatment approach as those with more advanced gastric cancer unless clinical usefulness of sentinel lymph node biopsy will be established.     

Factors influencing outcome in gastric cancer involving muscularis and subserosal layer.

AIMS: The prognostic factors for advanced gastric carcinoma without serosal invasion (pT2 AGC) are not clear. In terms of prognosis, pT2 AGC is considered intermediate between early gastric cancer (EGC) and gastric carcinoma with serosal invasion. METHODS: From January 1985 to December 2000, 182 patients with pT2 AGC underwent curative gastric resection in our Department. Prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that gender, tumour location, lymph node involvement, Borrmann type, number of lymph nodes involved, venous infiltration and extent of lymphadenectomy were significantly related to the prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that extent of lymph node metastasis (N1 vs N0 relative risk (RR) of recurrences=3.96, p<0.05; N2 vs N0 RR=6.55, p<0.05), and extent of lymphadenectomy (D1 vs D2 RR=3.2, p<0.01) were independent prognostic factors. In a subset of patients in which venous infiltration was analysed, this factor was also significant (RR=3.9, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that lymph node involvement and venous infiltration are important prognostic factors for pT2 AGC and, as such, adjuvant chemotherapy could be useful in this group of patients. An extensive lymph node dissection, minimum D2, should always be performed in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.     

Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors in 10 783 patients with gastric cancer

Background. Although the results of gastric cancer treatment have markedly improved, this disease remains the most common cause of cancer death in Korea. Methods. Clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed for 10 783 consecutive patients who underwent operation for gastric cancer at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, from 1970 to 1996. We also evaluated survival and prognostic factors for 9262 consecutive patients operated from 1981 to 1996. The clinicopathologic variables for evaluating prognostic values were classified as patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related factors. The prognostic significance of treatment modality [surgery alone, surgery + chemotherapy, surgery + immunotherapy + chemotherapy (immunochemosurgery)] was evaluated in patients with stage III gastric cancer (according to the International Union Against Cancer TNM classification of 1987). For the assessment of lymph node metastasis, both the number of involved lymph nodes and the ratio of involved to resected lymph nodes were analyzed, as a quantitative system. Results. The mean age of the 10 783 patients was 53.5 years and the male-to-female ratio was 2.07 : 1. Resection was performed in 9058 patients (84.0% resection rate). The 5-year survival rates were 55.9% for all patients and 64.8% for patients who received curative resection. Age, sex, preoperative hemoglobin and albumin levels, type of operation, curability of operation, tumor location, Borrmann type, tumor size, histologic differentiation, Lauren's classification, perineural invasion, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, depth of invasion, number of involved lymph nodes, ratio of involved to resected lymph nodes, and distant metastasis had prognostic significance on univariate analysis. Radical lymph node dissection, with more than 25 resected lymph nodes improved survival in patients with stage II and IIIa disease. As postoperative adjuvant therapy, immunochemotherapy was most effective in patients with stage III disease. Patients with identical numbers of lymph nodes -either the number of involved lymph nodes or the number of resected lymph nodes- were divided according to their ratios of involved-to-resected lymph nodes. In each numeric group, there were significant survival differences according to the ratio of involved-to-resected lymph nodes. However, patients who had the same involved-to-resected lymph node ratio did not show significant differences in survival rate according to either the number of involved or the number of resected lymph nodes. On multivariate analysis, curability of operation, depth of invasion, and ratio of involved to resected lymph nodes were independent significant prognostic factors. Conclusions. Curative resection, depth of invasion, and lymph node metastasis were the most significant prognostic factors in gastric cancer. With regard to the status of lymph node metastasis, the ratio of involved to resected lymph nodes had a more precise and comprehensive prognostic value than only the number of involved or resected lymph nodes. Early detection and curative resection with radical lymph node dissection, followed by immunochemotherapy, particularly in patients with stage III gastric cancer should be the standard treatment in principle, for patients with gastric cancer. Received for publication on Apr. 13, 1998; accepted on Oct. 22, 1998     

Gastric cancer with extragastric lymph node metastasis: multivariate prognostic study

Background. Although many authors have investigated the prognostic factors of gastric cancer, there are few comprehensive studies on the prognosis of patients with extensive lymph node metastasis. The aim of this study was to clarify the prognostic factors of gastric cancer with extragastric lymph node metastasis, using multivariate analysis. Methods. The study population consisted of 121 patients who had undergone radical gastrectomy and extended lymph node dissection (D2, D3) for gastric cancer with extragastric lymph node metastasis. We examined 18 clinicopathologic factors, including the type of gastrectomy, tumor size, depth of wall invasion, status of lymph node metastasis, and stage of disease. Survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier and Mantel-Cox methods, and multivariate analysis was done using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results. The overall 5-year survival rate was 32%, and the 5-year survival rate after curative gastrectomy was 37%. Overall survival rate was associated with the type of gastrectomy, stage of disease, operative curability, tumor size, depth of wall invasion, and anatomical distribution of positive nodes, whereas the survival rate after curative gastrectomy was correlated with the type of gastrectomy, stage of disease, tumor size, gross type, and depth of wall invasion. Independent prognostic factors were operative curability and depth of wall invasion, and survival after curative gastrectomy was influenced only by the depth of wall invasion (mucosa and submucosa [T1], muscularis and subserosa [T2] vs serosa [T3]). Conclusion. In patients with gastric cancer with extragastric lymph node metastasis, independent prognostic factors after gastrectomy were operative curability and depth of wall invasion. Long-term survival can be achieved when the patients have no serosal invasion (T1, T2) and are treated by curative gastrectomy. Received: August 7, 2000 / Accepted: December 19, 2000     

Risk factors for lymph node metastases and their prognostic significance in early gastric cancer (EGC) for the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer (IRGGC).

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastases are present in only about 15% of patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) and for this reason, the majority of these patients do not require lymphadenectomy. In Japan, EGC patients undergo less invasive treatment (endoscopic mucosal resection, wedge resection, laparoscopy). However, the indications for and results of these types of treatment are still uncertain. METHODS: In a multicentre retrospective study, we analysed the clinicopathological data referring to 584 early gastric cancer patients who underwent D2 gastrectomy. A comparison was made between patients with and without lymph node metastases in relation to numerous pre- and postoperative variables. Long-term survival and risk factors for lymph node metastases were analysed. The primary aim was to compare our results with those of Western and Japanese authors; we also evaluated the possibility of identifying a subset of patients at low risk of lymph node metastases who may be candidates for endoscopic treatment. RESULTS: The incidence of lymph node metastasis was 14.4%. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that submucosal infiltration, diffuse histotype, tumour size and Kodama Pen A type were all related to the presence of lymph node metastases. Patients with types I, IIa and IIb mucosal tumours did not present lymph node metastases. Postoperative mortality was 2.2%. Five-year survival in relation to lymph node groups was 95% in N0 patients, 77% in N1 patients and 60% in N2 patients (p = 0.0001, Japanese N-stage). The number of positive lymph nodes also had a prognostic value. Patients with three or fewer positive lymph nodes presented a better 5-year prognosis (83%) than those with more than three positive lymph nodes (48%) (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that lymph node involvement is an extremely important prognostic factor. For this reason, the therapeutic strategy of our surgical units is as follows: 1) D2 gastrectomy is the standard treatment even in early gastric cancer (EGC); 2) endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) could be considered first in types I, IIa and IIb tumours that are diagnosed as limited to the mucosal layer.     

Prognostic factors for patients with node‐negative gastric cancer: Can extended lymph node dissection have a survival benefit?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: For the patients with node-negative gastric cancer, there is no agreement on which clinicopathological factors influence the final results except T stage. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors, and to reveal whether the extent of lymph node dissection is associated with survival benefit for these patients. METHODS: Clinicopathological data of 506 patients with node-negative gastric cancer were studied. We divided the patients into D1 and D2 groups and carried out univariate and multivariate survival analyses. RESULTS: On the univariate analysis, the factors influencing survival were age, tumor size, Borrmann type, resection type, and the T stage. However, multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazard model disclosed age and the T stage to be significant variables. The extent of lymphadenectomy was revealed to be the independent prognostic factors for survival only for the patients with T3 stage. CONCLUSIONS: For the patients with clinically node-negative gastric cancer, an extended D2 lymph node dissection for the patients with T1 and T2 stage has no survival benefits. Although it might have some benefit for T3 stage by multivariate analysis, we should ascertain its value through a large randomized prospective study.