Prognostic factors in early gastric cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Opportunities of observing patients with recurrent early gastric cancer are rare. Assessment of prognostic factors for the recurrence of early gastric cancer is important for determining adequate strategies for managing early gastric cancer.


METHODS
Clinicopathologic variables were compared in 8 patients with and 453 without recurrence who were followed for over 5 years after curative resection. Expression of mutant p53 and Ki-67 was evaluated in 16 patients with n2 or above.


RESULTS
Eight patients died of gastric cancer with recurrence. There were no inter-group differences in mean diameter, histologic classification, patterns of infiltrating growth, or cancer-stroma relationship; but macroscopic appearance, depth of invasion, lymphatic invasion, venous invasion and lymph node metastases were significantly more frequent on univariate analysis in those with recurrence. Lymph node metastases was an independent prognostic factor by the Cox proportional hazards regression model. In patients with n2 or above, mutant p53 expression was higher in recurrent than in nonrecurrent cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Lymph node metastasis was the only independent prognostic factor for the recurrence of early gastric cancer. The expression of mutant p53 may be an indicator of recurrence in patients with n2 or above.
Kunisaki
C
C
Second Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0004, Japan. s0714@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Shimada
H
H
Takahashi
M
M
Ookubo
K
K
Moriwaki
Y
Y
Akiyama
H
H
Nomura
M
M
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53