Clinical significance of additional gastrectomy after non-curative endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer: a retrospective single-center study.

Purpose: Additional surgery is recommended for patients after a non-curative endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) to prevent residual cancer (RC) or lymph node metastasis (LNM). We aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients who underwent an additional gastrectomy after a non-curative ESD procedure and identify the risk factors of RC and LNM. Methods: We retrospectively assessed the clinicopathological factors of 73 patients who underwent additional gastrectomy following a non-curative ESD between January 2009 and December 2019 at our center. Results: RC and LNM rates after additional gastrectomy were 9.6% and 8.2%, respectively. Invasion deeper than 500 µm (P=0.045), positive horizontal resection margin (P<0.001), and positive ESD margin (P=0.001) were identified as statistically significant factors in univariate analysis for RC, but not in multivariate analysis. Lymphatic invasion was the only risk factor found to be significant in both univariate and multivariate analyses (P=0.005 and P=0.012). Conclusion: Additional gastrectomy is necessary to prevent RC or LNM after non-curative ESD. Lymphatic invasion was also associated with LNM in patients who underwent an additional gastrectomy after a non-curative ESD, and in such cases, active treatment is required.

External Validation of a Gastric Cancer Nomogram Derived from a Large-volume Center Using Dataset from a Medium-volume Center.

PURPOSE: Recently, a nomogram predicting overall survival after gastric resection was developed and externally validated in Korea and Japan. However, this gastric cancer nomogram is derived from large-volume centers, and the applicability of the nomogram in smaller centers must be proven. The purpose of this study is to externally validate the gastric cancer nomogram using a dataset from a medium-volume center in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 610 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer from August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2011. Age, sex, number of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs), number of examined LNs, depth of invasion, and location of the tumor were investigated as variables for validation of the nomogram. Both discrimination and calibration of the nomogram were evaluated. RESULTS: The discrimination was evaluated using Harrell's C-index. The Harrell's C-index was 0.83 and the discrimination of the gastric cancer nomogram was appropriate. Regarding calibration, the 95% confidence interval of predicted survival appeared to be on the ideal reference line except in the poorest survival group. However, we observed a tendency for actual survival to be constantly higher than predicted survival in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Although the discrimination power was good, actual survival was slightly higher than that predicted by the nomogram. This phenomenon might be explained by elongated life span in the recent patient cohort due to advances in adjuvant chemotherapy and improved nutritional status. Future gastric cancer nomograms should consider elongated life span with the passage of time.

Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is a prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) reflects patients' inflammation status, clinical stage, and survival in various malignancies. However, only a limited amount of information on the clinical importance and prognostic significance of NLR in gastric cancer has been reported. The objective of this study is to assess the prognostic values of preoperative NLR in patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: During the period between August 1, 2005 and December 31, 2011, we collected data from 601 patients among those who had undergone surgery for gastric cancer at the Department of Surgery, Konkuk University Medical Center. We classified the subjects into high NLR (NLR ≥ 1.7) group and low NLR (NLR < 1.7) group. RESULTS: The gender, age, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score did not differ in the two NLR groups. The pathologic features (tumor size, histology, number of examined lymph node, T stage, N stage, and TNM stage) did not differ either, except for tumor location (P = 0.006). Multivariate analysis identified TNM stage, NLR, and age as significant prognostic factors. Gender, tumor size, location, and histology did not show their prognostic significance when we applied the Cox proportional hazard model. CONCLUSION: Our study verified that advanced stage, high preoperative NLR (NLR ≥ 1.7), and old age (≥ 70 years) are significant, independent prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with gastric cancer.

Intra-abdominal fibromatosis after gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Intra-abdominal fibromatosis (IAF) may arise either sporadically or in association with familial adenomatous polyposis. The characteristics of fibromatosis are slow-growth, benign histological features, and aggressive local invasion. Surgery remains a reasonable first treatment option. Here, we report 2 cases of a phenomenon rarely described in published literature, IAF after gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Intra-abdominal masses were found during the routine follow-up period in a 50-year-old man who had received a radical subtotal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer. Two mesenteric masses were detected in the upper abdomen by CT and were excised completely along with segments of the jejunum. Another intra-abdominal mass was found in 60-year-old man who had received a radical total gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. A 4.2-cm-sized mass was detected in the periumbilical region by follow-up CT and was excised completely along with a segment of the ileum.

Small bowel diverticulosis in patient with early gastric cancer.

Jejunal and ileal diverticula are rare in adults. Duodenal diverticula are five times more prevalent than jejunoileal diverticula. Most patients are asymptomatic. However, chronic symptoms including intermittent abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea and constipation are seen in 10%-30% of patients. Gastric cancer is the second most common cancer in South Korea and here we report a case of early gastric cancer with multiple duodenal and jejunal diverticula. A 67-year-old woman was admitted to Konkuk University Medical Center with chronic diarrhea and weight loss of 19 kg over 2 months. Following gastroduodenoscopy, we identified adenocarcinoma of the lower body of the stomach. On abdominopelvic computed tomography, diverticula of duodenum and jejunum were found. Patient underwent distal gastrectomy and gastroduodenostomy with lymphadenectomy. She was discharged on the tenth postoperative day without complications.