ABSTRACT
AIM: To compare anatomical with numerical criterion to measure the quality of lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed 447 gastric cancer patients with resectable tumor stage (R0 resection) with at least 16 examined lymph nodes. RESULTS: Of 447 patients, 82.6% underwent D2 lymphadenectomy for a median of total examined lymph nodes of 28. The 7-year disease-specific survival rate for the whole sample was 71.4%. Survival was significantly different between patients treated with D2 and D1 lymphadenectomy (77.4% versus 44.3%; p < 0.001) and between patients with total examined lymph nodes ≥ 28 and < 28 (74.5% versus 62.3%; p = 0.041). Anatomical criterion significantly differentiated 7-year survival in patients stratified according to a numerical parameter. CONCLUSION: We should still consider the anatomical criterion as the best item to measure the quality of lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Gastrectomy/methods , Lymph Node Excision/methods , Lymph Nodes/pathology , Quality Assurance, Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Stomach Neoplasms/pathology , Adenocarcinoma/surgery , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Lymph Nodes/surgery , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Stomach Neoplasms/surgery , Survival RateABSTRACT
The global aging of population will lead a greater number of elderly patients to undergo surgical procedure in a near future. Concerning gastric cancer, the impact of lymphadenectomy on survival has been demonstrated in RCTs, and extended lymphadenectomy is now considered as gold standard of treatment in non-early tumors. However, the role of age as a prognostic factor and the benefit of extended surgery in elderly/high-risk patients are not clearly defined yet. From our revision of literature, it seems that surgery for gastric cancer may have a further tailorization, considering not only the stage of disease, but also patients' age and comorbidities.
ABSTRACT
Seventh tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification for gastric cancer, published in 2010, introduced changes in all of its three parameters with the aim to increase its accuracy in prognostication. The aim of this review is to analyze the efficacy of these changes and their implication in clinical practice. We reviewed relevant Literature concerning staging systems in gastric cancer from 2010 up to March 2016. Adenocarcinoma of the esophago-gastric junction still remains a debated entity, due to its peculiar anatomical and histological situation: further improvement in its staging are required. Concerning distant metastases, positive peritoneal cytology has been adopted as a criterion to define metastatic disease: however, its search in clinical practice is still far from being routinely performed, as staging laparoscopy has not yet reached wide diffusion. Regarding definition of T and N: in the era of multimodal treatment these parameters should more influence both staging and surgery. The changes about T-staging suggested some modifications in clinical practice. Differently, many controversies on lymph node staging are still ongoing, with the proposal of alternative classification systems in order to minimize the extent of lymphadenectomy. The next TNM classification should take into account all of these aspects to improve its accuracy and the comparability of prognosis in patients from both Eastern and Western world.
