Adjuvant treatment of gastric cancer in a long term follow-up

• Published in: Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD 2009-03, Vol.22 (1), p.25-28
• Main Authors: Federico, Miriam Honda, Zilberstein, Bruno, Cecconello, Ivan, Jacob, Carlos Eduardo, Bresciani, Cláudio, Kenji, Osmar, Mucerino, Donato, Lopasso, Fábio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0102-6720; 0102-6720
• DOI: 10.1590/S0102-67202009000100006

BACKGROUND: Advanced gastric cancer carries a poor-prognosis. The best extent of the node dissection and the value of postoperative adjuvant treatments remain open questions. AIM: To study the efficacy of adjuvant chemoradiation and the prognostic value of some clinico-pathological variables in gastric cancer previously submitted to surgery. METHODS: Retrospective single institution study of 69 patients with histological diagnoses of gastric adenocarcinoma, consecutively submitted to radical surgery with curative intent in a five years period. Lymph node dissection was either D1 or D2 at the surgeon's description. All patients were submitted to adjuvant chemoradiation according to MacDonald et al.². Treatment discontinuation and early deaths were considered as serious toxic events. Clinical-pathological variables (the extent D level of the node dissection, T/N-stage, histological subtype, margin status, number of the dissected nodes) were correlated to the results. Overall survival was estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method and the curves were compared by the log-rank test. RESULTS: Patients characteristics: 48 male/21 female, median age 56,4 y (30-79). In 25 patients, the extent of node dissection was D1, in 41 was D2 and D0 in 3. Staging (n): T2 (16); T3 (49); T4 (4); No (11); N1 (29); N2 (20); N3 (8); Nx (1). Histological subtype: intestinal (45), diffuse (19) and unknown (5). Margins were free in 57 patients, the median number of dissected nodes was 31 (0-120). They were treated with linear acelerator 6 MV photons, AP/PA fields with 45Gy in 5 weeks in 90% of the patients and the treatment was done in a mean time of 19,2 weeks. In the median follow-up of 19,3mo (8-52,5mo), 52 patients with more than 24 months of follow-up occurred 38 deaths. The median overall survival for all patients was 22,2 months. Seven (10%) patients presented serious toxic events and treatment was discontinued. Six (8,6%) refused to continue the treatment. The acute toxicity was predominantly gastrointestinal (63), neurological (2), hematological (3), stroke (1). Toxicity was considered GI/GII (52), GIII (10) and GIV (1). Recurrences were local (6); loco-regional (2); local and distant (5); regional (9); regional and distant (2) and only distant (4). There were two patients with progression of the disease and 11 were lost of the follow-up (16%). Twenty eight (40,5%) were alive without disease. In the 52 patients with longer follow-up the Kaplan Mayer analysis showed: bett