Recurrence in patients following curative resection of early gastric carcinoma

Objective Post-gastrectomy recurrences of early gastric cancer occur in a few cases. We investigated the outcome of early gastric cancer patients treated surgically, with special respect to the risk factor(s) for tumor recurrence. Patients and Methods A total of 308 patients with mono-foci early gastric cancer underwent curative surgical resection. Clinicopathological variables and tumor recurrence patterns were analyzed retrospectively. Results Recurrence was observed in 30 out of 245 patients (12.24%) who had completed follow-up. The median interval from surgery to diagnosis of recurrence was 28 (range 3–188) months. Hematogenous recurrence (3.27%) was twice as frequent as peritoneal recurrence (1.63%). Gastric stump cancer occurred in 9 patients (3.67%), anastomotic recurrence in 7 patients (2.86%) and lymphatic recurrence in 4 patients (1.63%). Older patients (≥60 years old) had a more frequent recurrence rate than younger patients (P < 0.05). Multivariate analyses identified lymph node metastasis and depth of invasion as risk factors of recurrence. All the patients with a positive family history of cancer got recurrence within 3 years after surgery. Conclusions Early gastric cancer patients, who were elderly, had lymphatic and submucosal involvement, and patients with a positive family history of cancer, tended to have a greater risk of recurrence. J. Surg. Oncol. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.