Objective: The present study analysed the experience of a single Italian institution in the treatment of gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma with the aim of assessing the long-term outcome after surgical resection.
Methods: The results of 132 patients who underwent resection with curative intent for GEJ adenocarcinoma at the First Division of General Surgery, University of Verona, from January 1988 to February 2004, were analysed statistically with special reference to Siewert type. The median follow-up period for the surviving patients was 37 months.
Results: Long-term survival was limited to patients who underwent RO resections (88.6%) with a 5-year survival rate of 28%. Univariate analysis showed Rp, T and pN categories to be significant prognostic factors (P<0.001), with chance of cure limited to patients with less than 6 involved lymph nodes. At multivariate analysis, R category and lymph node involvement were the most important prognostic factors while pT category lost the significance shown at univariate analysis (P=0.082). Siewert classification did not show any prognostic significance (P=0.969), but the mode of recurrence differed for the three Siewert types: in type I tumors, the majority of relapses were haematogenous (67%), while they were prevalently intra-abdominal in type III (65%) with a high rate of peritoneal carcinosis (26%).
Conclusions: The long-term prognosis for GEJ cancer remains poor, independently from Siewert type, with cure limited to patients with less than 6 involved lymph nodes.