title: Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of metastatic gastric carcinoma patients who experience gastrointestinal perforation during palliative chemotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We conducted the current study to investigate the clinical outcomes of metastatic gastric carcinoma (MGC) patients who experienced gastrointestinal (GI) perforation during palliative chemotherapy and to examine the prognostic factors associated with survival after perforation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the medical records of patients at the Center for Gastric Cancer of the National Cancer Center, Korea who developed GI perforation during palliative chemotherapy between January 2001 and December 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,856 patients who received palliative chemotherapy for MGC, 32 patients (1.7%) developed GI perforation during chemotherapy. Patients with perforation at the primary gastric site were more likely to have ulcerative gastric cancer lesion (90.5 vs. 40.0%, P = 0.034) or gastric tumor bleeding (28.6 vs. 0%, P = 0.298), and less likely to have Bormann type IV (14.3 vs. 60.0%, P = 0.062), than patients with perforation at nongastric sites. In 14 patients (43.8%) who resumed chemotherapy after perforation, the disease control rate was 57.1%, and median overall survival (OS) after perforation was 7.5 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 6.0-9.0 months]. In all patients, median OS following perforation was 4.0 months (95% CI, 1.5-6.6 months), and multivariate analysis revealed that differentiated tumor histology, response to chemotherapy before perforation, and absence of septic shock at time of perforation were significantly associated with favorable OS after perforation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As patients experiencing GI perforation during palliative chemotherapy have heterogeneous clinical presentation, we need to adopt different approaches in the management of the patients that are compatible with the favorable prognostic factors.
authors.affiliation: Center for Gastric Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Myoung Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Shi Nae
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Noe Kyeong
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young-Iee
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Young-Woo
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keun Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Jun Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jong Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sook Ryun
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018279:Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007416:Intestinal Perforation / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome