OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric stump cancer (GSC) and evaluate the benefits of radical surgery of GSC. METHODS: The clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative survival time of 37 GSC patients who underwent surgery were investigated retrospectively. The survival time was compared according to the type of surgical operation (radical resection vs palliative operation). Twenty-one cases that received radical resection were analyzed based on the pTMN stage. Survival curves were traced by using Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS: Most GSC (32/37) was detected in patients who had received Billroth II reconstruction after partial gastrectomy for benign gastric disease. The lesser curvature side and the suture line of anastomosis were the most frequent sites where GSC occurred (27/37). Differentiated adenocarcinoma was the dominant histopathological type (24/37). The postoperative 5-year survival rate of early stage GSC patients (n=9) was significantly higher than advanced stage GSC (n=12) (55.6% vs 16.5%, xL2=11.48, P<0.01). Five-year survival rate of 21 GSC patients with radical resection were 75% (3/4) for stage I, 60% (3/5) for stage II, 14.2% (1/7) for stage III, and 0% (0/5) for stage IV respectively. The median survival time of 21 GSC patients who underwent radical resection was longer than those undergoing palliative operation (43.0 m vs 13.0 m, x L2=36.31, P<0.01), the median survival time of stage IV patients with radical resection was 23.8 months. CONCLUSIONS: Without remote metastasis, radical resection for GSC is possible, and is an effective way to improve the prognosis of GSC. Even in stage IV GSC, radical resection can still prolong the survival time. It is necessary for the patients with benign gastric diseases who received partial gastrectomy to carry out the endoscopy follow-up, especially in patients with Billroth II reconstruction procedure at 15-20 years.
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