title: A follow-up study of resected stomach cancer patients with special emphasis on the incidence of second primary cancers.
abstract: The causes of death in long-term survivors of stomach cancer after a gastrectomy have been investigated in a follow-up study of 320 such patients, with special focus on the postoperative development of a second primary cancer. The five- and 10-year overall survival rates of early stomach cancer patients were 87.5 and 75.8%, respectively, and of advanced stomach cancer patients, 44.2 and 37.5%, respectively. A multivariate analysis identified the patient's age and stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis as separate prognostic factors for overall survival. During the observation period, 15 (4.7%) patients developed a second primary cancer, so that no significantly elevated risk of developing a second primary cancer was demonstrated. During the same observation period, however, 48 (15%) of the patients died of a non-cancerous disease, 12 succumbing to an acute myocardial infarction and/or heart failure. Given these results, it is felt that continued follow-up of long-term stomach cancer survivors should be pursued to prevent or impede the development of a non-cancerous disease and/or a second primary cancer, so that the life of such former patients can be prolonged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Detection, Tochigi Cancer Center.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasagawa
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshinari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000401:mortality; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate