Long-term outcome of a large series of gastric cancer patients in China

Objective The outcome of gastric cancer treatment in China is relatively poor compared with those in Japan and Korea. Relevant factors are not quite clear till now. The aim of this study is to present data on gastric cancer patients from a single high volume cancer center of China and to illuminate relevant factors regarding unsatisfactory outcome. Methods A total of 2312 consecutive pathologically proven gastric carcinoma patients were treated in Beijing Cancer Hospital from January 1995 to December 2005. Clinical information including demographic information, tumor characteristics, therapeutic experience and survival was retrieved from the Database specially designed for Gastric Cancer Collaborative Group, Beijing Cancer Hospital. Results There were 1633 males and 679 females with a median age of 58.8 years (range 19–89). Merely 181 patients were in the early stage (7.8%). Curative resection was performed in less than 72% of the patients. The number of lymph nodes harvested varied from 0 to 71 (average 9) while the median number of positive lymph node was 2 (0–37). Only in 650 patients the number of lymph nodes harvested was more than 14. At the end of follow-up, 874 patients were still alive while 1132 died. The 1, 2, 5, 10-year overall survival were 68.50%, 51.88%, 36.83%, and 30.49%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that TNM stage, tumor location, tumor size, surgery, and vascular invasion were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion The outcome of gastric cancer in China is not as good as expected. Early detection and standardized curative resection should be prompted at present to improve the outcome.