Endoscopic ultrasonography for preoperative staging of gastric carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the accuracy and limitation of endoscopic ultrasonography in preoperative staging of gastric cancer, we performed a prospective study on 99 patients.


METHODS
Ninety-nine patients with gastric cancer had preoperative staging with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and CT.


RESULTS
The depth of infiltration (T parameter) was correctly defined by EUS in 58/65 patients (89%). The lymph node involvement (N parameter) was correctly classified in 44/65 patients (68%), the sensitivity was 74% and the specificity was 54%. The most frequent cause of understaging T parameter was microscopic tumor invasion, whereas overstaging was due to peri-tumor inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
We believe that EUS is a reliable method, superior to all diagnostic tools, in the evaluation of locoregional extension of gastric cancer.
Massari
M
M
Department of General and Thoracic Surgery, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico.
Cioffi
U
U
De Simone
M
M
Bonavina
L
L
D'elia
A
A
Rosso
L
L
Ferro
C
C
Montorsi
M
M
D019160:Endosonography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery