Multivariate analysis of gastric cancer patients with liver metastases

In 93 cases of stomach cancer with liver metastasis, the influence of surgery and chemotherapy on the patients' prognosis was examined. Chemotherapy comprised systemic administration of mitomycin C (MMC) (39 cases), intra-hepatoarterial administration of MMC (19 cases) and intra-hepatoarterial infusion of cisplatin (CDDP) + MMC (PM intra-arterial chemotherapy) (24 cases) in the first 1-2 postoperative weeks. MMC and CDDP were given by 1-4 courses every 1-3 weeks. Examination of the prognosis factors by generalized Wilcoxon test revealed significant differences in the extent of lymph node metastasis (N0-2 vs N3,4), possible resection of primary lesion, and chemotherapeutic regimen (PM intra-arterial chemotherapy and other chemotherapeutic regimens). The response rate was 4.3% (1/23), 29.4% (5/17) and 73.8% (17/23) for MMC systemic administration, MMC intra-arterial chemotherapy and PM intra-arterial chemotherapy, respectively, with a significantly high response rate for the latter. Also for the 50% survival period, the latter showed 11.8 months compared with 2.7 months for other chemotherapeutic treatments, indicating its good prognosis regardless of possible resection of the primary lesion. Cox proportional hazard model revealed the latter alone to be a significant independent factor. The above results suggest that the PM intra-arterial chemotherapy is an effective approach to stomach cancer with liver metastasis.