title: Clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical outcomes of mucinous gastric carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The clinicopathologic characteristics of mucinous gastric carcinoma (MGC), an uncommon subtype of gastric carcinoma, were examined by comparing 45 MGC and 1255 non-MGC (NGC) cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 1300 gastric cancer patients, 1184 (early, n=568; advanced, n=616) underwent potentially curative or palliative resection. Age, sex, tumor location, tumor diameter, macroscopic appearance, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphatic invasion, and venous invasion were monitored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all registered patients, MGC patients' characteristics were as follows: advanced-stage disease (P=.0293), macroscopically ill-defined tumors (P=.0051), deeper invasion (P=.0046), and more lymph node involvement (P=.0008). Although there were no significant differences between curatively resected MGC and NGC advanced-cancer patients, in curatively resected early-cancer patients, depth of invasion (P=.0060) and lymphatic invasion (P=.0374) were significantly different. Survival time in all registered patients was shorter for MGC patients (P=.0489). Survival of curatively resected advanced and early gastric cancer patients was not significantly different. Age, macroscopic appearance, tumor diameter, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and curability, but not histological type, were independent prognostic factors in all registered patients. Histological type also did not influence prognosis after curative resection. MGC patients had significantly more metastatic lymph nodes and lymphatic and venous invasion. Survival was significantly different (P=.0450) between all patients with undifferentiated and differentiated MGC, but not in curatively resected patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MGC patients' poor prognosis correlates with advanced disease at diagnosis. Therapeutic and follow-up plans after curative resected MGC and NGC should remain the same, possibly with alterations according to the former's histological subtype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9, Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0004, Japan. s0714@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunisaki
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Hidetaka Andrew
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimada
mesh_terms: D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate