Predictors of long-term survival in node-positive gastric carcinoma patients with curative resection.
OBJECTIVE
We analyzed the clinicopathologic features of node-positive gastric carcinoma patients who were long-term survivors (5 years or longer) and evaluated the predictive factors associated with long-term survival.


METHODS
Of 554 node-positive gastric carcinoma patients with curative resection, 161 (29.1%) were long-term survivors, and 393 died of the disease before 5 years.


RESULTS
The long-term survivor group had a recurrence rate of 16.1%, while the recurrence rate was 95.4% in the short-term survivor group (P < 0.05). The mean tumor size in the long-term survivors (4.5 cm) was significantly smaller than that in the short-term survivors (5.3 cm; P < 0.001). A depth of invasion greater than T3 was found more frequently in the short-term survivor group (88.1%) than in the long-term survivor group (70.1%; P < 0.001). Using Cox's proportional hazard regression model, the only factor found to be an independent, statistically significant prognostic parameter was tumor size (risk ratio, 0.301; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-0.88; P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The tumor size emerged as the only independent, significant factor for the prediction of long-term survival in node-positive gastric carcinoma patients with curative resection.
Kim
Dong Yi
DY
Division of Gastroenterologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, 8, Hakdong, Dongku, Gwangju, 501-757, South Korea. dockim@chonnam.ac.kr
Joo
Jae Kyoon
JK
Park
Young Kyu
YK
Ryu
Seong Yeob
SY
Kim
Young Jin
YJ
Kim
Shin Kon
SK
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data