[The prognostic influence of D2 lymphadenectomy with para-aortic lymph nodal dissection for gastric cancer in N3 stage].
OBJECTIVE
To elucidate the necessity of para-aortic lymph nodal dissection in D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer in N3 stage.


METHODS
A total of 278 gastric cancer patients staged N3 who underwent gastrectomy between January 2003 and December 2007 were enrolled. There were 180 male and 98 female patients, and the patients' age were 26-93 years (median was 61 years). All patients had undergone surgical treatment. There were R0 resection in 246 cases and R1 resection in 32 cases. Lymph node dissection included D1 lymphadenectomy with 125 cases, D2 lymphadenectomy with 109 cases and D2+para-aortic lymph nodal dissection(PAND) with 44 cases. The surgical approach were total gastrectomy (98 cases) and subtotal gastrectomy (180 cases). Potential prognostic factors were analyzed.


RESULTS
The lymph node metastasis of each station was high in gastric cancer patients staged N3 and 34.1% patients had the para-aortic lymph nodal metastasis. Borrmann type (HR = 1.350, 95%CI: 1.018-1.790, P = 0.037), curability (HR = 1.580, 95%CI: 1.076-2.322, P = 0.020), depth of invasion (HR = 1.697, 95%CI: 1.005-2.864, P = 0.048), metastatic lymph node ratio (HR = 1.631, 95%CI: 1.261-2.111, P = 0.000), extranodal metastasis (HR = 1.336, 95%CI: 1.027-1.738, P = 0.031), postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 1.312, 95%CI: 1.015-1.696, P = 0.038), extent of lymphadenectomy (HR = 1.488 and 2.114, P = 0.054 and 0.000) and number of retrieved lymph node (HR = 1.503 and 2.112, P = 0.025 and 0.000) were found to be factors correlated to overall survival. In multivariate analysis, only Borrmann type (HR = 1.399, 95%CI: 1.050-1.863, P = 0.022), metastatic lymph node ratio (HR = 1.353, 95%CI: 1.016-1.802, P = 0.039) and extent of lymphadenectomy (HR = 1.725, 95%CI: 1.111-2.678, P = 0.015) were independent prognostic factors for gastric cancer patients in N3 stage.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients in N3 stage should at least have 30 lymph node examined. D2 lymph node dissection plus PAND may improve the overall survival for gastric cancer patients in N3 stage.
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Yue-xiang
YX
Liang
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China. Email: tjlianghan@126.com.
Han
H
Liang
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Xue-wei
XW
Ding
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Xiao-na
XN
Wang
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Li
L
Zhang
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Liang-liang
LL
Wu
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Hong-gen
HG
Liu
Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300060, China.
Xu-guang
XG
Jiao
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate