Background: Early gastric cancer involves mucosa and submucosa, independent of lymph node involvement. Radical gastrectomy is the standard treatment.
Aim: To assess long term survival of patients operated for an early gastric cancer.
Material and methods: Retrospective review of medical and pathology records of patients subjected to a gastrectomy for an early gastric cancer, between 1975 and 2002. All were treated using a standardized protocol and staged according to 2002 TNM classification of the American Joint Committee of Cancer (AJCC). Demographic and pathologic features, operation performed and long term survival were recorded. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method.
Results: The series is comprised by 64 males and 41 females aged 61 +/- 1 years. Tumor was located in the upper third of the stomach on 33 subjects and a total gastrectomy was performed in 53. Pathology showed an intestinal type adenocarcinoma in 82 and a diffuse type in 23. In patients with involvement of mucosa and submucosa, 24 +/- 14 and 22 +/- 14 lymph nodes were excised, respectively. Lymph node involvement was present in 8% and 22% of patients with involvement of mucosa and submucosa, respectively. Five years survival was 94% and 78% in patients without and with lymph node involvement, respectively. Survival among patients in stage IA and IB was 94% and 76%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the lymph node involvement was an independent mortality risk factor.
Conclusions: Total gastrectomy in patients with early gastric cancer is associated with a good survival. Lymph node involvement is a mortality risk factor.