title: Predictors of long-term survival in node-positive gastric carcinoma patients with curative resection.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, 8, Hakdong, Dongku, Gwangju, 501-757, South Korea. dockim@chonnam.ac.kr
authors.forename: Dong Yi
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae Kyoon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Young Kyu
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seong Yeob
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin Kon
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: 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