Profiling the prognosis of gastric cancer patients: is it worth correlating the survival with the clinical/pathological and molecular features of gastric cancers?
BACKGROUND
The prognosis of gastric cancer patients still remains poor. The aim of this study was investigating the prognostic value of several clinical/pathological/molecular features in a consecutive series of gastric cancers.


METHODS
150 R0 gastrectomies plus 77 gastric cancer patients evaluated for the HER2 overexpression were selected. Survival was calculated and patients stratified according to the stage, the T-stage, the LNRs, the LNH, and the HER2 scoring system. ROC curves were calculated in order to compare the performance of the LRN and LNH systems.


RESULTS
Prognosis correlated with the stage and with the T-stage. We documented a statistical correlation between the LNRs and the survival. Conversely, a LNH > 15 did not correlate with the outcomes. The ROC curves documented a significant performance of the LRN system, whereas a statistical correlation was documented for the LNH exclusively with the endpoint of disease-free survival. We documented a trend of worse prognosis for patients with an HER2 overexpression, even though it was not of statistical value.


CONCLUSIONS
The LNR and the evaluation of the HER2 overexpression might be useful since they correlate with survival, might identify patients with a higher risk of recurrence, and might select patients for a tailored medical treatment.
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Laura
L
Lorenzon
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Paolo
P
Mercantini
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Mario
M
Ferri
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Marco
M
La Torre
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Alessandra
A
Sparagna
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Genoveffa
G
Balducci
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Giulia
G
Tarantino
Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Adriana
A
Romiti
Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Emanuela
E
Pilozzi
Surgical and Medical Department of Translational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Vincenzo
V
Ziparo
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016019:Survival Analysis
D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human