Does gastrojejunostomy for unresectable cancer of the gastric antrum offer satisfactory palliation?
OBJECTIVE
Gastrojejunostomy is the procedure of choice for patients with obstruction or stenosis of the gastric outlet or duodenum. However, the palliative benefits of this procedure in gastric cancer remain uncertain. Thus, the present study was performed to address this problem.


METHODS
In the present study, 52 patients who had undergone gastrojejunostomy for unresectable cancer of the gastric antrum at Kitasato University Hospital and Kitasato University East Hospital in Japan between 1972 and 1994 were examined.


RESULTS
The median survival time in these 52 patients was 5.0 months. The duration of palliation ranged from 0-13 months, with an average of 2.8 months. No significant difference between clinicopathologic factors and duration of palliation was found and location of tumor was the only independent prognostic factor (coefficient: 0.890; hazard ratio: 2.435).


CONCLUSIONS
Although gastrojejunostomy for unresectable cancer of the gastric antrum is the procedure most often chosen at laparotomy, the palliative benefits of gastrojejunostomy do not sufficiently compensate for the patients' limited post-operative survival and quality of life.
Kikuchi
S
S
Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan.
Tsutsumi
O
O
Kobayashi
N
N
Tsukamoto
H
H
Shimao
H
H
Sakakibara
Y
Y
Hiki
Y
Y
Kakita
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005774:Gastrostomy; D006801:Humans; D007582:Jejunostomy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D011706:Pyloric Antrum; D011788:Quality of Life; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016019:Survival Analysis