title: Clinical impact of positive surgical margin status on gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The clinical impact of positive surgical margin on the overall survival and recurrence pattern for gastric cancer (GC) patients undergoing intension curative resection has not yet been well investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical features of 1,565 patients with histologically proven GC who underwent intension curative resection from 1994 to 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 129 (8.2%) had positive microscopic resection margin. The clinicopathological features and the outcome of 1,436 GC patients undergoing gastrectomy with negative resection margin were used for comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GC patients who underwent gastrectomy with higher T, N stage, and tumor size larger than 5 cm tended to have positive resection margin when compared with those with negative margin. Median follow-up duration for the 1,565 GC patients who underwent intension curative resection was 28.6 months. The overall survival (OS) rate significantly decreased when the patients had positive resection margin, irrespective of different stages. When GC patients underwent gastrectomy with positive resection margin, positive nodal metastasis determined the worst OS. Distant metastasis was the most common site of recurrence, followed by peritoneal and locoregional recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aggressive tumor biology might be the main factor contributing to positive microscopic resection margin after gastrectomy. Positive resection margin had a definite unfavorable impact on the OS of gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy. When GC patients underwent gastrectomy with positive resection margin, positive nodal metastasis determined the worst OS, and distant metastasis was the most common site of recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shang-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chun-Nan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Hsiang-Lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yu-Yin
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tzu-Chieh
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Tsann-Long
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Yi-Yin
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Miin-Fu
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018279:Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome