title: Prognostic factors in a series of 297 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma undergoing surgical resection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gastric cancer has a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of several clinicopathological variables on outcome in a series of 297 Western patients undergoing surgical resection for gastric adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The results were analysed retrospectively and prognostic factors were identified in a univariate and Cox proportional hazards regression model. Mean patient age at the time of operation was 61.9 years; 65.7 per cent were men. Mean follow-up was 7.8 (range 1-15) years. Of the 297 patients undergoing surgery, 70 per cent had subtotal gastrectomy, 26.3 per cent underwent total gastrectomy and 3.7 per cent had proximal gastrectomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall survival rate was 38.9 per cent at 5 years. In th univariate analysis, survival-related factors were weight loss (P < 0.05), abdominal mass (P < 0.01), dysphagia (P < 0.001), type of gastrectomy (subtotal gastrectomy versus total gastrectomy, P < 0.001), intention of resection (curative versus palliative resection, P < 0.001), tumour site (P < 0.001), histopathological grade (low versus high grade, P < 0.05), tumour diameter less than 3 cm (P < 0.001), degree of gastric wall invasion (P < 0.001), degree of lymph node invasion (P < 0.001) and stage of the neoplasia (P < 0.001). Other variables had no significant influence. In the multivariate analysis, degree of gastric wall invasion, lymph node invasion, tumour size and dysphagia at presentation were the only independent prognostic variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From these data it was possible to derive a prognostic index with which patients could be classified as at low, intermediate or high risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Bueno
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Garcia-Marcilla
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Perez-Flores
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pérez-Abad
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vicente
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parrilla
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome