Background: The role of gastrectomy in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer patients with non-curative factors remains controversial. We investigated prognostic factors and evaluated the role of gastrectomy in such patients.
Patients and methods: Eighty-eight advanced gastric cancer patients with non-curative factors were prospectively studied. The patients were categorized into the following two groups: Group A: 52 patients who underwent gastrectomy and subsequently received chemotherapy, Group B: 36 patients who received chemotherapy alone.
Results: The median survival times of group A and B patients were 351 and 182 days, respectively (p=0.008). Multivariate analysis showed that gastrectomy was the only positive independent prognostic factor, with no effect on the results of chemotherapy. There was no significant difference in the duration of hospital stay between patients of the two groups, while significantly longer maintenance of oral intake was observed for group A.
Conclusion: In advanced gastric cancer patients with non-curative factors, gastrectomy was beneficial for survival with longer maintenance of oral intake.