Tae Kyung Ha

Bone Metastasis in Gastric Cancer Patients

Purpose Bone metastasis from stomach cancer occurs only rarely and it is known to have a very poor prognosis. This study examined the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients who were diagnosed with stomach cancer and bone metastasis. Materials and Methods The subjects were 19 patients who were diagnosed with stomach cancer at Hanyang University Medical Center from June 1992 to August 2010 and they also had bone metastasis. The survival rate according to many clinicopathologic factors was retrospectively analyzed. Results 11 patients out of 18 patients (61%) who received an operation were in stage IV and the most common bone metastasis location was the spine. Bone scintigraphy was mostly used for diagnosing bone metastasis and PET-CT and magnetic resonance imaging were used singly or together. The serum alkaline phosphatase at the time of diagnosis had increased in 12 cases and there were clinical symptoms (bone pain) in 16 cases. Treatment was given to 14 cases and it was mostly radiotherapy. There were 2 cases of discovering bone metastasis at the time of diagnosing stomach cancer. The interval after operation to the time of diagnosing bone metastasis for the 18 cases that received a stomach cancer operation was on average 14.9±17.3 months and the period until death after the diagnosis of bone metastasis was on average 3.8±2.6 months. As a result of univariate survival rate analysis, the group that was treated for bone metastasis had a significantly better survival period when the bone metastasis was singular rather than multiple, as compared to the non-treatment group, yet both factors were not independent prognosis factors on multivariate survival analysis. Conclusions An examination to confirm the status of bone metastasis when conducting a radio-tracer test after the initial diagnosis and also after an operation is needed for stomach cancer patients, and bone scintigraphy is the most helpfully modality. Making the diagnosis at the early stage and suitable treatments are expected to enhance the survival rate and improve the quality of life even for the patients with bone metastasis.

Evaluation of the 7th AJCC TNM Staging System in Point of Lymph Node Classification

Purpose The 7th AJCC tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging system modified the classification of the lymph node metastasis widely compared to the 6th edition. To evaluate the prognostic predictability of the new TNM staging system, we analyzed the survival rate of the gastric cancer patients assessed by the 7th staging system. Materials and Methods Among 2,083 patients who underwent resection for gastric cancer at the department of surgery, Hanyang Medical Center from July 1992 to December 2009, This study retrospectively reviewed 5-year survival rate (5YSR) of 624 patients (TanyN3M0: 464 patients, TanyNanyM1: 160 patients) focusing on the number of metastatic lymph node and distant metastasis. We evaluated the applicability of the new staging system. Results There were no significant differences in 5YSR between stage IIIC with more than 29 metastatic lymph nodes and stage IV (P=0.053). No significant differences were observed between stage IIIB with more than 28 metastatic lymph nodes and stage IV (P=0.093). Distinct survival differences were present between patients who were categorized as TanyN3M0 with 7 to 32 metastatic lymph nodes and stage IV. But patients with more than 33 metastatic lymph nodes did not show any significant differences compared to stage IV (P=0.055). Among patients with TanyN3M0, statistical significances were seen between patients with 7 to 30 metastatic lymph nodes and those with more than 31 metastatic lymph nodes. Conclusions In the new staging system, modifications of N classification is mandatory to improve prognostic prediction. Further study involving a greater number of cases is required to demonstrate the most appropriate cutoffs for N classification.

Clinicopathologic Characteristics of Gastric Cancer Patients according to the Timing of the Recurrence after Curative Surgery

Purpose There are few studies that have focused on the predictors of recurrence after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. This study analyzed the patients who died of recurrent gastric carcinoma and we attempted to clarify the clinicopathologic factors that are associated with the timing of recurrence. Materials and Methods From June 1992 to March 2009, 1,795 patients underwent curative gastric resection at the Department of Surgery, Hanyang University College of Medicine. Among them, 428 patients died and 311 of these patients who died of recurrent gastric carcinoma were enrolled in this study. The clinicopathologic findings were compared between the 72 patients who died within one year after curative gastrectomy (the early recurrence group) and the 92 patients who died 3 years after curative gastrectomy (the late recurrence group). Results Compared with the late recurrence group, the early recurrence group showed an older age, a more advanced stage, a poorly differentiated type of cancer and a significantly higher tendency to have lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion and perineural invasion.Especially in the gastric cancer patients with a more advanced stage (stage III and IV), the early recurrence group was characterized by a significantly higher preoperative serum carcino embryonic antigen level, perineural invasion and a relatively small number of dissected lymph nodes. Conclusions The clinicopathologic characteristics of recurrent gastric cancer are significantly different according to the stage of disease, and even in the same stage. For the early detection of recurrence after curative surgery, it is important to recognize the clinicopathological factors that foretell a high risk of recurrence. It is mandatory to make an individualized surveillance schedule according to the clinicopathologic factors.

Tumor Size as a Prognostic Factor in Gastric Cancer Patient

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic significance of tumor size for 5-year survival rate in patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods A total of 1,697 patients with gastric cancer, who underwent potentially curative gastrectomy, were evaluated. Patients were divided into 4 groups as follows, according to the median size of early and advanced gastric cancer, respectively: small early gastric cancer (tumor size ≤3 cm), large early gastric cancer (tumor size >3 cm), small advanced gastric cancer (tumor size ≤6 cm), and large advanced gastric cancer (tumor size >6 cm). The prognostic value of tumor size for 5-year survival rate was investigated. Results In a univariate analysis, tumor size is a significant prognostic factor in advanced gastric cancer, but not in early gastric cancer. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size is an independent prognostic factor for 5-year survival rate in advanced gastric cancer (P=0.003, hazard ratio=1.372, 95% confidence interval=1.115~1.690). When advanced gastric cancer is subdivided into 2 groups, according to serosa invasion: Group 1; serosa negative (T2 and T3, 7th AJCC), and Group 2; serosa positive (T4a and T4b, 7th AJCC), tumor size is an independent prognostic factor in Group 1 (P=0.011, hazard ratio=1.810, 95% confidence interval=1.149~2.852) and in Group 2 (P=0.033, hazard ratio=1.288, 95% confidence interval=1.020~1.627), respectively. Conclusions Tumor size is an independent prognostic factor in advanced gastric cancer irrespective of the serosa invasion, but not in early gastric cancer.

Prognostic factors on overall survival in lymph node negative gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection.

Purpose To assess independent prognostic factors for lymph node-negative metastatic gastric cancer patients following curative resection is valuable for more effective follow-up strategies. Materials and Methods Among 1,874 gastric cancer patients who received curative resection, 967 patients were lymph node-negative. Independent prognostic factors for overall survival in lymph node-negative gastric cancer patients grouped by tumor invasion depth (early gastric cancer versus advanced gastric cancer) were explored with univariate and multivariate analyses. Results There was a significant difference in the distribution of recurrence pattern between lymph node-negative and lymph node-positive group. In the lymph node-negative group, the recurrence pattern differed by the depth of tumor invasion. In univariate analysis for overall survival of the early gastric cancer group, age, macroscopic appearance, histologic type, venous invasion, lymphatic invasion, and carcinoembryonic antigen level were significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis for these factors showed that venous invasion (hazard ratio, 6.695), age (≥59, hazard ratio, 2.882), and carcinoembryonic antigen level (≥5 ng/dl, hazard ratio, 3.938) were significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis of advanced gastric cancer group showed that depth of tumor invasion (T2 versus T3, hazard ratio, 2.809), and age (hazard ratio, 2.319) were prognostic factors on overall survival. Conclusions Based on our results, independent prognostic factors such as venous permeation, carcinoembryonic antigen level, and age, depth of tumor invasion on overall survival were different between early gastric cancer and advanced gastric cancer group in lymph node-negative gastric cancer patients. Therefore, we are confident that our results will contribute to planning follow-up strategies.

The distance of proximal resection margin dose not significantly influence on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients after curative resection.

Purpose It is well known that the curative resection with an adequate proximal margin length is the most effective treatment in gastric cancer. However, despite surgeons effort to achieve a sufficient proximal margin length, it is often difficult to obtain a recommended proximal margin length in some cases. Therefore, this study was planned to investigate the impact of the length of proximal margin on prognosis of overall survival. Methods Between June 1992 and December 2010, 1,888 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy with curative intent were reviewed. According to tumors location (total vs. subtotal gastrectomy), pathologic T staging, and differentiation, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of the discrepancies of proximal margin length on overall survival. Also, the impact of the discrepancies of proximal margin length on local recurrence was assessed. Results The 5-year survival rate of positive proximal margin group was 5.9%. In negative proximal margin groups, multivariate analysis showed that the discrepancies of proximal margin length have no impact on overall survival. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that there is no association between discrepancy of proximal margin length and local recurrence. Conclusion It takes effort to secure a negative proximal margin in the surgical treatment of gastric cancer because of the poor prognosis of positive proximal margin. In negative proximal margin patients, theres no need to achieve an additional proximal margin length for long-term survival benefit because there was no impact of proximal margin length on overall survival and local recurrence.

An Insufficient Preoperative Diagnosis of Borrmann Type 4 Gastric Cancer in Spite of EMR

Borrmann type 4 gastric cancers are notorious for the difficulty of finding cancer cells in the biopsy samples obtained from gastrofiberscopy. It is important to obtain the biopsy results for making surgical decisions. In cases with Borrmann type 4 gastric cancer, even though the radiological findings (such as an upper gastrointestinal series, abdominal computed tomography and positron emission tomography/computed tomography) or the macroscopic findings of a gastrofiberscopy examination imply a high suspicion of cancer, there can be difficulty in getting the definite pathologic results despite multiple biopsies. In these cases, we have performed endoscopic mucosal resection under gastrofiberscopy as an alternative to simple biopsies. Here we report on a case in which no cancer cells were found even in the endoscopic mucosal resection specimen, but the radiologic evidence and clinical findings were highly suspicious for gastric cancer. The patient finally underwent total gastrectomy with lymph node resection, and she was pathologically diagnosed as having stage IV gastric cancer postoperatively.

Postoperative mechanical small bowel obstruction induced by V-Loc barbed absorbable suture after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy

When performing laparoscopic gastrectomy, suturing the intestinal anastomosis presents one of the greatest challenges. The V-Loc unidirectional barbed suture has been introduced to eliminate the need to tie knots during closure. This device offers a fast, secure, and effective alternative to conventional suture repair during laparoscopic surgery. However, there have been reported cases of surgical complications associated with the use of barbed suture devices. We describe here a case of small bowel obstruction resulting from improper use of barbed suture during total laparoscopic distal gastrectomy performed for gastric cancer. Following diagnosis of small bowel obstruction, the patient underwent immediate laparoscopic repair that identified the cause and relieved the small bowel obstruction. This case highlights the need for surgeons to carefully perform proper suturing technique in order to prevent complications. Surgeons should maintain a high index of suspicion for diagnosing and treating potentially severe complications when using barbed sutures.

Recurrence of gastric cancer in patients who are disease-free for more than 5 years after primary resection

BACKGROUND Late recurrence of gastric cancer is rare and there are few data on recurrence in patients who are disease free for >5 years after gastrectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictors and status of tumor recurrence among these patients. METHODS Clinicopathologic characteristics, patterns of recurrence, and postrecurrence survival were analyzed in patients who were diagnosed as disease free at 5 years postoperatively and thereafter experienced recurrence. Independent factors associated with the late recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS Among 1,573 patients who underwent curative surgery from June 1992 to December 2006, 348 patients had recurrence. Of them, 7.6% (n = 25) suffered from late recurrence after 5 years after gastrectomy. Among patients who were diagnosed as disease free at 5 years after surgery, it accounted for 2.8% (25/902). Cases with late recurrence were characterized by more aggressive clinicopathologic features than those without recurrence. The median time to recurrence was 88.8 months (range, 64.8-238.0); of the 25 patients, 18 (72.0%) had recurrence within 8 years after surgery. The most common pattern was peritoneal recurrence (n = 19; 76.0%). The estimated median survival after recurrence was 9.4 months. On multivariate analysis, pT4 classification was the only independent risk factor for late recurrence. There were 185 patients with pT4 tumor who had no recurrence at 5 years after surgery; 19 (10.3%) had late recurrence. CONCLUSION pT4 tumor was the only important predictor of late recurrence. Whether extended follow-up for T4 tumors affects survival needs to be demonstrated in more large-scale studies.