title: Surgical outcomes for gastric cancer patients with intraperitoneal free cancer cell, but no macroscopic peritoneal metastasis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gastric cancer patients with intraperitoneal cancer cells have extremely poor prognoses, because they frequently develop peritoneal metastasis. The aim of the current study is to clarify the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with intraperitoneal free cancer cells who do not have recurrences.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined 1,985 gastric adenocarcinoma patients who underwent gastrectomies at our institution between January 1975 and December 2000.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 5-year survival rate of advanced gastric cancer patients with intraperitoneal free cancer cells, but no macroscopic peritoneal metastases (P0Cy1), is 15.3%. Multivariate analysis identified only lymph node metastasis as an independent prognostic indicator in P0Cy1 patients. The 5-year survival rates of P0Cy1 patients were 62.5%, 19.1%, 17.6%, and 9.4% in n0, n1, n2, and n3 patients, respectively. Peritoneal recurrence was observed significantly more often in P0Cy1 patients than in advanced gastric cancer patients without intraperitoneal free cancer cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate that prognoses of P0Cy1 patients without lymph node metastasis are good, whereas the prognoses of those with lymph node metastasis are extremely poor. Therefore, radical surgery and adequate adjuvant chemotherapy should be performed for P0Cy1 patients with no lymph node metastasis.
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Tottori University School of Medicine, Yonago, Japan. sai10@med.tottori-u.ac.jp
authors: Hiroaki
authors: H
authors: Saito
authors: Kyoichi
authors: K
authors: Kihara
authors: Hirohiko
authors: H
authors: Kuroda
authors: Tomoyuki
authors: T
authors: Matsunaga
authors: Shigeru
authors: S
authors: Tatebe
authors: Masahide
authors: M
authors: Ikeguchi