title: Effect of extramucin pools in gastric cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mucinous gastric adenocarcinoma (MGC) is defined by the World Health Organization as a gastric adenocarcinoma with >50% extracellular mucin pools within the tumors. In this study, we attempted to analyze the clinicopathologic features of patients pathologically diagnosed as gastric cancer with lower than 50% tumor volume of extracellular mucin pool adenocarcinoma (LEMPC). We compared MGC versus nonmucinous gastric adenocarcinoma (NMGC). We were used in abbreviations LEMPC for NMGC including extracellular mucin pool.
  
  
  METHODS
  Files of 995 patients with gastric cancer NMGC (n = 935), MGC (n = 20), LEMPC (n = 40) who underwent curative resection at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital from December 2008 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. All pathologic reports after curative resection and evaluated clinicopathologic features were reviewed to identify the effect of extracellular mucin pools in gastric cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the NMGC patients, the clinicopathological features of MGC patients were as follows: more frequent open surgery, larger tumor size, more advanced T stage and N stage, more positive lymph node metastasis, and perineural invasion. LEMPC patients showed similar features compared with NMGC patients. MGC and LEMPC patients showed similar clinicopathological features, except T stage and lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LEMPC can be thought of as a previous step of MGC. It is reasonable to consider LEMPC patients in the diagnostic criteria of MGC, and to adequately treat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Si-Hak
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Cheol-Woong
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang-In
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Dae-Hwan
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Yong
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Heon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun-Hwi
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
keywords: Mucinous adenocarcinoma; Neoplasms; Stomach