Laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer: preliminary experience

Background Laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer (GC) was introduced in the past decade because it was considered less invasive than open surgery, resulting in less postoperative pain, faster recovery, and improved quality of life. Several studies have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of this procedure. We analyzed our preliminary experience with this procedure.Methods From November 2003 to December 2004, 20 patients affected by gastric adenocarcinoma were operated on with a totally laparoscopic or laparoscopic-assisted approach. This series included 10 women and 10 men, aged from 34 to 75 years. Procedures consisted of eight total gastrectomies, three subtotal Billroth I and seven Billroth II gastrectomies, one proximal gastrectomy, and one wedge resection. According to the TNM classification, we observed five patients at stage Ia, four at stage Ib, three at stage II, one at stage IIIa, two at stage IIIb, and five at stage IV.Results In all patients the procedures were completed without any conversion. Operative time ranged from 150 to 300min. The number of dissected lymph nodes ranged from 23 to 47. No mortality was observed. Overall morbidity rate was 10% (two cases), with one enteric fistula and one esophagojejunal anastomotic leakage associated with pancreatitis. Excluding these two patients, postoperative stay was between 12 and 20 days.Conclusions Even though accompanied by a difficult learning curve, safety and feasibility are widely demonstrated, but a skilled and experienced surgeon is required. Accurate selection of patients is mandatory and curative resection is achievable in cases where GC is not advanced.     

Extra-nodal metastasis should be classified separately from lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer

IntroductionExtra-nodal metastasis (ENM) is defined as a tumor nodule without histological evidence of a lymph node structure. Although ENM has pathological features distinct from those of metastatic lymph nodes, both ENM and metastatic lymph nodes are considered within the same category in the pathological nodal (pN) classification. This study aimed to clarify the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic relevance of ENM in gastric cancer patients who underwent curative gastrectomy.Materials and methodsWe retrospectively evaluated 1207 Japanese patients who underwent curative gastrectomy at a single center between January 2009 and December 2013. All resected specimens were fixed in 10% formalin, processed, and stained using hematoxylin and eosin, and subsequently reviewed by two pathologists. Survival times were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and independent prognostic factors were identified using a Cox proportional hazards regression model.ResultsPatients who were ENM-positive had significantly poorer overall survival; multivariable analysis revealed that independent prognostic factors were older age (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.60–5.20), higher pathological tumor classification (HR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.43–3.62), presence of metastatic lymph nodes (HR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.0–2.36), and ENM-positive status (HR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.48–3.66). ENM-positive patients had similar survival outcomes to those of ENM-negative patients with ≥16 metastatic lymph nodes.ConclusionsAmong Japanese patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy, ENM was an independent prognostic factor with a prognostic significance different from that of lymph node metastasis. These results suggest that ENM and lymph node metastasis should be classified separately.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery in gastric cancer patients with extensive lymph node metastasis

Gastric cancer with extensive lymph node metastasis (ELM) is usually considered unresectable and is associated with poor outcomes. Cases with clinical enlargement of the para-aortic lymph nodes and/or bulky lymph node enlargement around the celiac artery and its branches are generally dealt with as ELM. A standard treatment for gastric cancer with ELM has yet to be determined. Two phase II studies of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery showed that neoadjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 plus cisplatin followed by surgical resection with extended lymph node dissection could represent a treatment option for gastric cancer with ELM. However, many clinical questions remain unresolved, including the criteria for diagnosing ELM, optimal regime, number of courses and extent of lymph node dissection.     

未分化型早期胃癌的淋巴结转移规律分析

目的探讨未分化型早期胃癌(EGC)的淋巴结转移规律。方法对1994年1月至2008年12月手术治疗的335例早期胃癌的临床病理学资料进行回顾性分析。结果未分化型早期胃癌的淋巴结转移率为17.9%,其中黏膜内癌(M癌)和黏膜下层癌(SM癌)的淋巴结转移率分别为10.5%、25.6%,直径≤2.0cm和>2.0cm的淋巴结转移率分别为8.0%和25.8%,脉管瘤栓阳性和脉管瘤栓阴性的淋巴结转移率为50.0%和16.3%。单因素分析显示,肿瘤大小、浸润深度、脉管瘤栓与未分化型早期胃癌淋巴结转移相关(P<0.05)。多因素分析显示,肿瘤最大径>2cm、黏膜下层浸润和脉管瘤栓是未分化型早期胃癌淋巴结转移的独立危险因素(P<0.05)。结论肿瘤直径≤2cm、黏膜内癌、无脉管瘤栓的未分化型早期胃癌发生淋巴结转移风险小。     

Clinical significance of skip metastasis in patients with gastric cancer

Background Metastasis appearing to bypass or skip tiers of lymph nodes (LNs) has been referred to as skip metastasis. The clinical impact of skip metastasis in gastric cancer remains unclear. Methods In patients with gastric cancer, the clinicopathological features and postoperative prognoses of 21 patients with skip metastasis were evaluated and compared with findings in patients with group 1 (N1) or group 2 (N2) LN metastasis. Results Of the 21 patients with skip metastasis, 9 patients had metastasis in the LN along the common hepatic artery (No. 8a), 8 patients had metastasis in the LN along the left gastric artery (No. 7), 2 patients had metastasis in LNs No. 7 and No. 8a, 1 patient had metastasis in the LN at the splenic hilum (No. 10), and 1 patient had metastasis in LN No. 10 and the LN along the splenic artery (No. 11). The mean diameter of the tumors in the patients with skip metastasis was 5.7 ± 2.4 cm, which was significantly smaller than those in the N1 patients (7.9 ± 4.1 cm) and N2 patients (9.3 ± 4.6 cm). The incidence of serosal invasion, lymphatic vessel invasion, and peritoneal metastasis was lower in patients with skip metastasis compared with N2 patients. The 5-year survival rates were 70.2%, 62.0%, and 31.2% in patients with skip metastasis, patients with metastasis in group 1 LNs, and those with metastasis in group 2 LNs, respectively. The prognosis of patients with metastasis in group 2 LNs was significantly worse than that of patients with either skip metastasis (P = 0.0029) or metastasis in group 1 LNs (P < 0.0001). Conclusion Our data indicate that both the clinicopathological characteristics and the prognoses of patients with skip metastasis were similar to those of patients with N1 LN metastasis, but these features were not similar to those in patients with N2 LN metastasis. The sites of skip metastasis presented in the current study may be the key for applying the concept of the sentinel node in gastric cancer.     

Indications for gastrectomy after incomplete EMR for early gastric cancer

Background Although the number of patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) treated by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) has increased, the appropriate strategy for treating those with incomplete resection has not been established.Methods This study analyzed 726 cases of EGC in patients treated by EMR between 1991 and 2000, in order to clarify the en-bloc and complete resection rates. We classified patients with incomplete resection into four groups according to the estimated risk of residual cancer or lymph node (LN) metastasis, determined from pathological findings of EMR specimens. We then analyzed 45 patients with EGC treated surgically after incomplete EMR, with the aim of eliciting the risk of residual cancer and LN metastasis.Results Of the 726 patients, 529 (72.9%) had an en-bloc resection, while 378 (52.1%) had a complete resection. Three hundred and nine patients were found to have mucosal cancer and lateral cut-end-positive status with no LN metastasis (group A). In this group, 18 patients (5.8%) had residual cancer, with the lesions in the majority of patients being limited to the mucosal layer. Group B consisted of 14 patients with differentiated and submucosal (sm1) depth cancers, with 1 patient having residual cancer and 2 patients having LN metastasis. Fifteen patients were classified as group C, with sm2 or greater and vertical cut end-negative status, with 2 showing residual cancer and 1 showing LN metastasis. Group D included 10 patients with vertical cut end-positive status. Four of these patients had residual cancer while 1 had LN metastasis.Conclusion We recommend that patients in group A should have close follow-up or endoscopic treatment, while those in groups B, C, or D should be treated by gastrectomy associated with LN dissection.     

Prognostic value of extracapsular invasion and fibrotic focus in single lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Histological findings of metastatic lymph nodes are important prognosticators in patients with gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of various pathological characteristics of the early phase of lymph node metastasis in patients with gastric cancer, by selecting patients with tumors that had single lymph node metastases, no serosal invasion, and no metastases to the peritoneum, liver, or distant organs. METHODS: Seventy-eight patients were eligible and were entered in this study. These patients were subdivided according to the following histological characteristics of the one metastatic lymph node: size of the metastasis (i.e., amount of tumor cells [AT]), proliferating pattern (PP), intranodal location (IL), and the presence or absence of extracapsular invasion (ECI) and/or fibrotic focus (FF). Associations between clinicopathological factors, survival, and the nodal findings were examined. RESULTS: There were no correlations between AT or PP and any clinicopathological factors. IL was significantly correlated with venous invasion and the pathological characteristics of the primary tumor. ECI and FF were observed significantly more frequently in pT2 than in pT1 cancer. Overall survival (OS) differed significantly according to depth of invasion, venous invasion, and the presence or absence of ECI or FF, although OS was not affected by AT, PP, or IL. The 10-year overall survival rates of patients with and without ECI were 50% and 80%, respectively, while these rates for patients with and without FF were 50% and 79%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that ECI and FF were significant prognosticators of survival. CONCLUSION: These results strongly suggested that the presence of ECI or FF could affect the survival of patients with gastric cancer.     

Laparoscopic gastrectomy with lymph node dissection for gastric cancer

Since 1991, laparoscopic surgery has been adopted for the treatment of gastric cancer, and it has been performed worldwide, especially in Japan and Korea. We reviewed the English-language literature to clarify the current status of and problems associated with laparoscopic gastrectomy with lymph node dissection as treatment for gastric cancer. In Japan, early-stage gastric cancer (T1/T2, N0) is considered the only indication for laparoscopic gastrectomy. As yet, there is little high-level evidence based on long-term outcome supporting laparoscopic gastrectomy for cancer, but reports have provided level 3 evidence that the procedure is technically safe, and that it yields better short-term outcomes than open surgery; that is, recovery is faster, hospital stay is shorter, there is less pain, and cosmesis is better. However, investigation into the oncological outcome of laparoscopic gastrectomy as treatment for cancer is lacking. To establish laparoscopic surgery as a standard treatment for gastric cancer, multicenter randomized controlled trials to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery are necessary.     

WEE1在胃癌组织中的表达及对患者预后的影响

目的 探讨WEE1基因在胃癌组织中的表达及对患者预后的影响。方法 收集78例胃癌患者为研究对象,根据有无淋巴结转移,将患者分为淋巴结(-)组与淋巴结(+)组,采用免疫组化及RT-qRCR技术检测胃癌组织中WEE1的表达,统计分析WEE1表达对胃癌淋巴结转移及预后的影响。结果 (1)WEE1在胃癌组织中的阳性率为43.6%,其中,低表达13例,高表达21例。淋巴结(+)组与淋巴结(-)组的WEE1的阳性率分别为53.8%(28/52)和23.1%(6/26);(2)RT-qPCR检测结果显示,淋巴结(-)组与淋巴结(+)组患者的平均WEE1 mRNA表达量分别为(1.32±0.21)、(3.64±0.41),差异具有统计学意义(P＜0.01);(3)ROC曲线结果显示,WEE1 mRNA表达水平对胃癌淋巴结转移预测的曲线下面积为0.806,敏感性84.8%,特异性79.6%,有较好的诊断效能。T分期、有无淋巴结转移是影响WEE1表达的独立性危险因素(P＜0.05);(4)78例患者,失访7例,失访率为8.9%,5年内死亡41例,其中,WEE1(-)组、WEE1低表达组、WEE1高表达组分别死亡13例、10例、18例,三组患者的5年生存率有统计学差异(χ²=25.67,P＜0.001)。两两比较后发现,WEE1低表达组与WEE1高表达的生存率无统计学差异(P＞0.05),但均显著低于WEE1(-)组(P＜0.05)。结论 WEE1在胃癌中有较高的阳性率,且与患者分期及淋巴结转移密切相关,其阳性表达是患者预后不良的强烈信号。     

食管癌手术治疗原则和淋巴结清扫

食管癌的外科治疗应在仔细评估肿瘤的进展程度和患者的功能状况基础上掌握手术指征和手术方式,通过根治性的手术切除达到准确的手术病理分期和良好的局部控制,并籍此提高生存率和生活质量.系统性淋巴结清扫是食管癌外科治疗中的重要手段,应根据食管癌淋巴转移的解剖和生物学行为特点选择规范、合理的清扫.如何正确解读新版国际食管癌临床病理分期、理解并遵循<中国食管癌规范化诊治指南>进行规范化的外科诊治是提高治疗效果的关键.     

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     

An assessment of the feasibility of sentinel lymph node-guided surgery for gastric cancer

Background Sentinel node-guided surgery has received increasing attention in tumor surgery. To ascertain whether sentinel lymph node (SLN)-guided surgery is feasible for gastric cancers 4cm or less in size, we conducted a multicenter clinical study.Methods One milliliter of isosulfan blue was injected endoscopically into the gastric wall at four sites around a gastric cancer lesion. Approximately 15min after the injection of the dye, the surgeons resected (picked-up) the stained blue nodes (defined as SLNs) around the stomach.Results SLNs were detected in 140 of 144 patients (97.2%). The average number of SLNs was 3.3. In 99 patients with D2 lymph node dissection, the false-negative rate (FNR) was evaluated. In 14 T1 patients with pathological positive lymph node metastasis (pN(+)), the FNR was 29%. In 9 T2,3 pN(+) patients, the FNR was 44%. In T1 patients with pN(+) but macroscopically normal lymph nodes during surgery (sN0), the FNR was 11% (1/9).Conclusion T1 and sN0 patients may be a target group for the study of SLN-guided surgery. A larger multicenter trial should be performed to clarify the application of sentinel node navigation surgery for gastric cancer.*Members of the EGI group are the First Department of Surgery of Okayama University Hospital; Satoh Hospital; Kaneda Hospital; Hiroshima City Hospital; Fukuyama National Hospital; Onomichi Citizens Hospital; Okayama Saiseikai Hospital; Matsuyama Citizens Hospital; Himeji Central Hospital; Oomoto Hospital; Tsuyama Central Hospital; Kagawa Rohsai Hospital; Matsuda Hospital; and Mihara Red Cross Hospital.     

Imaging in assessing lymph node status in gastric cancer

Background  Accurate assessment of lymph node status is of crucial importance for appropriate treatment planning and determining prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to systematically review the current role of imaging in assessing lymph node (LN) status in gastric cancer. Methods  A systematic literature search was performed in the PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases. The methodological quality and diagnostic performance of the included studies was assessed. Results  Six abdominal ultrasonography (AUS) studies, 30 endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) studies, 10 multidetectorrow computed tomography (MDCT) studies, 3 conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, 4 ¹⁸F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) studies, and 1 FDG-PET/CT fusion study were included. In general, the included studies had moderate methodological quality. The sensitivity and specificity of AUS varied between 12.2% and 80.0% (median, 39.9%) and 56.3% and 100% (median, 81.8%). The sensitivity and specificity of EUS varied between 16.7% and 95.3% (median, 70.8%) and 48.4% and 100% (median, 84.6%). The sensitivity and specificity of MDCT varied between 62.5% and 91.9% (median, 80.0%) and 50.0% and 87.9% (median, 77.8%). The sensitivity and specificity of MRI varied between 54.6% and 85.3% (median, 68.8%) and 50.0% and 100% (median, 75.0%). The sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET varied between 33.3% and 64.6% (median, 34.3%) and 85.7% and 97.0% (median, 93.2%). The sensitivity and specificity of the FDG-PET/CT fusion study were 54.7% and 92.2%. For all the imaging modalities, there were no significant differences between the mean sensitivities and specificities of high- and low-quality studies. Conclusion  AUS, EUS, MDCT, conventional MRI, and FDG-PET cannot reliably be used to confirm or exclude the presence of LN metastasis. The performance of highresolution PET/CT fusion and functional MRI techniques still has to be determined.     

Risk factors for lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer without lymphatic invasion after endoscopic submucosal dissection

BackgroundLymphatic invasion (LI) is a potent risk factor for lymph node metastasis (LNM) in early gastric cancer (EGC) after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). However, there are also other risk factors for LNM. Hence, to identify the need for additional surgery in some case of EGC without LI, the present study aimed to identify the risk factors for LNM in patients with EGC without LI.MethodsData from 2284 patients diagnosed with EGC who underwent curative surgery at National Cancer Center in Korea from January 2012 to May 2019 were collected. The clinicopathological characteristics of patients with EGC without LI were compared on the basis of LNM status.ResultsThere were 339 (17.1%) and 1648 (82.9%) patients with and without LI respectively. Among these patients with and without LI, 118 (34.8%) and 91 (5.5%) patients presented with LNM, respectively. In patients with EGC without LI, tumor size larger than 3 cm (OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.22–3.68; p = 0.007), submucosal invasion (OR = 4.14, 95% CI = 2.57–6.65; p < 0.001), and undifferentiated histologic type (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.45–3.76; p < 0.001) were significant risk factors for LNM. Rates of LNM in patients meeting absolute, expanded, and beyond expanded criteria without LI were 0%, 1.5% (OR = 3.27, 95% CI = 0.18–59.41; p = 0.423), and 7.3% respectively. When the expanded criteria were divided into four subtypes patients with EGC, without LI within each subtype did not show significant risk of incidence of LNM compared to the absolute criteria.ConclusionsThe current expanded criteria for endoscopic resection (ER) are tolerable in cases without LI, even though minimal risk LNM exists. Therefore, additional surgery may not be needed for patients meeting expanded criteria for ER.     

Proposal of a novel subclassification of pN3b for improvement the prognostic discrimination ability of gastric cancer patients

IntroductionIn the recent edition of TNM staging system, pN3b gastric cancer were separated into the staging system for better prognosis accuracy. The definition of pN3b contains a large range of metastasis lymph nodes (mLNs). However, few studies have evaluated the prognosis of pN3b patients and it remains unknown whether these patients were reasonably assigned into the same substage.Materials and methodsA total of 642 pN3b patients from a multi-institutional cohort in China were included. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify the independent prognostic factors. Restricted cubic spine model was used to specify the association between the continuous variables and the logarithm Hazard ratios (HRs). The optimal cut-off value of mLNs for DSS was identified using the X-tile software.ResultsThe 5-year DSS rate of total pN3b cohort was 15.4%. The smooth curves showed a non-linear association between the mLNs and the logarithm HRs. All pN3b gastric cancer patients were divided into two subclassifications (pN3b1: 16-24 mLNs, pN3b2: ≥25 mLNs). Significant survival difference was observed between two subclassifications (P = 0.048). Additionally, more LNs examined could decrease the death risk of pN3b patients and bring survival benefit only in pN3b1 patients, but not in pN3b2 patients.ConclusionsWe proposed a novel subclassification of pN3b patients, which assigned patients into two subclassifications with significant survival difference. Future study should explore the prognosis value based on this novel subclassification in TNM staging system.     

Evolution of gastric surger y techniques and outcomes

Surgical management of gastric cancer improves survival. However, for some time, surgeons have had diverse opin-ions about the extent of gastrectomy. Researchers have conducted many clinical studies, making slow but steady progress in determining the optimal surgical approach. The extent of lymph node dissection has been one of the major issues in surgery for gastric cancer. Many trials demonstrated that D2 dissection resulted in greater morbidity and mortality than D1 dissection. However, long-term outcomes demonstrated that D2 dissection resulted in longer survival than D1 dissection. In 2004, the Japan Clinical Oncology Group reported a pivotal trial which was performed to determine whether para-aortic lymph node dissection combined with D2 dissection was superior to D2 dissec-tion alone and found no beneift of the additional surgery. Gastrectomy with pancreatectomy, splenectomy, and bursectomy was initially recommended as part of the D2 dissection. Now, pancreas-preserving total gastrectomy with D2 dissection is standard, and ongoing trials are addressing the role of splenectomy. Furthermore, the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic gastrectomy are well established. Survival and quality of life are increasingly recognized as the most important endpoints. In this review, we present perspectives on surgical techniques and important trials of these techniques in gastric cancer patients.     

Preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastases in gastric cancer by magnetic resonance imaging with ferumoxtran-10

Background Knowledge regarding the presence and location of lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer is essential in deciding on the operative approach. Lymph node metastases have been diagnosed with imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography (US); however, the accuracy of such diagnoses, based on size and shape criteria, has not been adequate. Ferumoxtran-10 (Combidex; Advanced Magnetics) is a lymphotropic contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) whose efficacy for the detection of metastatic lymph nodes in various cancers has been reported by several investigators; however, its efficacy for this purpose has not been reported for gastric cancer. We investigated the efficacy of ferumoxtran-10-enhanced MRI for the diagnosis of metastases to lymph nodes in gastric cancer. Methods Seventeen consecutive patients who were diagnosed with a nonearly stage of gastric cancer were enrolled in the study. All the patients were examined by MRI (Signa Horizon 1.5 T; GE Medical; T2*-weighted images) before and 24 h after the intravenous administration of ultrasmall particles of superparamagnetic iron oxide — ferumoxtran-10 (2.6 mg Fe/kg of body weight) — and the presence or absence of metastasis was determined from the enhancement patterns. The imaging results were compared with the corresponding histopathological findings following surgery. Results Of 781 lymph nodes dissected during surgery, the imaging results of 194 nodes could be correlated with their histopathological findings. Fifty-nine lymph nodes from 11 patients had histopathological metastases. In nonaffected normal lymph nodes, we observed dark signal intensity on MRI caused by the diffuse uptake of the contrast medium by macrophages resident in the lymph nodes, which phagocytose the iron oxide particles of ferumoxtran-10. The number of phagocytic macrophages was decreased in metastatic lymph nodes, and they showed various patterns of decreased uptake of ferumoxtran-10. Three enhancement patterns were observed in lymph nodes: (A) lymph nodes with overall dark signal intensity due to the diffuse uptake of ferumoxtran-10; (B) lymph nodes with partial high signal intensity due to partial uptake; and (C) no blackening of lymph nodes due to no uptake of ferumoxtran-10. Patterns (B) and (C) were defined as metastatic. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall predictive accuracy of postcontrast MRI were 100% (59/59), 92.6% (125/135), 85.5% (59/69), 100% (125/125), and 94.8% (184/194), respectively. These parameters for predictive accuracy were much superior to these parameters previously evaluated by CT or US. Nodes in the retroperitoneal and paraaortic regions were more readily identified and diagnosed on the MR images than those in the perigastric region. Conclusion The present study confirmed that ferumoxtran-10-enhanced MRI is useful in the diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes and that the use of this modality will be helpful in treatment decision-making for gastric cancer patients.