Prognostic Indicators in Stage IV Surgically Treated Gastric Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Multi-Institutional Study

Introduction: The role of gastric resection in treating metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma is controversial. In the present study, we reviewed the short- and long-term outcomes of stage IV patients undergoing surgery. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted that assessed patients undergoing elective surgery for incurable gastric carcinoma. Short- and long-term results were evaluated. Results: A total of 122 stage IV gastric cancer patients were assessed. Postoperative mortality was 5.7%, and the overall rate of complications was 35.2%. The overall survival rate at 1 and 3 years was 58 and 19% respectively; the median survival was 14 months. Improved survival was observed for the factors age less than 60 years ( p = 0.015), site of metastases ( p = 0.022), extended lymph node dissection ( p = 0.044), absence of residual disease after surgery ( p = 0.001), and administration of adjuvant chemotherapy ( p = 0.016). Multivariate analysis showed that residual disease and adjuvant chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that surgery combined with systemic chemotherapy in selected patients with stage IV gastric cancer can improve survival.