Clinical features and recent treatment trend of gastric cancer

Seo, Ji Hyun; Kim, Nayoung; Lee, Dong Ho; Kim, Jin Wook; Hwang, Jin Hyeok; Park, Young Soo; Kim, Sun Mi; Kim, Hyng Ho; Park, Ran Young; Lee, Kyoung Soo; Jung, Hyun Chae; Song, In Sung

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is the most common malignancy in Korea. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the chronological changes of clinical feature and usefulness of recent treatment modalities such as laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy and endoscopic gastric mucosal resection (EMR).
METHODS
We analyzed the clinical characteristics of the gastric cancer patients who were diagnosed as gastric cancer by pathology from May 2003 to May 2004 in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. In addition, we classified the curable treatment modalities depending on whether it was early gastric cancer or advanced gastric cancer.
RESULTS
The total number of patients was 231, and the proportion of early gastric cancer was 97 patients (42.0%). Forty three patients (18.6%) were diagnosed through health screening test. Curative treatment was performed in 169 patients (73.2%): that is, radical subtotal gastrectomy in 158 (68.4%), and EMR in 11 (4.8%). Among 158 patients who underwent curative radical surgery, 67 patients (42.4%) had been operated on laparoscopic gastrectomy (laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy or laparoscopic wedge resection). There was no cancer recurrence in the early gastric cancer after curative treatment regardless of treatment modality during mean follow-up period of 15.9 months.
CONCLUSIONS
These results seem to support the usefulness of health screening test for early detection of gastric cancer. Laparoscopic gastrectomy could be the primary choice for the early gastric cancer.