Prognostic significance of splenectomy during completion total gastrectomy in patients with remnant gastric cancer: propensity score matching analysis

Purpose: Splenectomy for patients with remnant gastric cancer has been controversial. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of splenectomy in the treatment of remnant gastric cancer.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 285 patients with remnant gastric cancer who underwent completion total gastrectomy with or without splenectomy in Samsung Medical Center, between September 1996 and December 2017. We used a 1:1 propensity score matching method for the analysis. The matching factors were age, sex, and pathologic stage. After the matching process, we compared the 5-year overall survival (OS) and the disease-free survival (DFS) between patients with and without splenectomy during completion total gastrectomy.Results: The median duration of follow-up was 58.0 months (range, 0–132 months). After propensity score matching, there were no statistically significant differences between the splenectomy group (n = 77) and no splenectomy group (n = 77) in terms of clinicopathological features. The 5-year OS rate between the no splenectomy and splenectomy group were not significantly different. There was no significant difference between 5-year DFS of the matched groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that splenectomy is not a significant prognostic factor in terms of 5-year OS (no splenectomy vs. splenectomy; 61.5% vs. 60.2%, P = 0.884) or DFS (74.9% vs. 69.8%, P = 0.880).Conclusion: Splenectomy has no impact on the OS and DFS in patients with remnant gastric cancer. Splenectomy during completion total gastrectomy may not be necessary.

The Effect of the Change in Lymph Flow Following Gastrectomy for Initial Disease on the Prognosis of Remnant Gastric Cancer

Background: Remnant gastric cancer (RGC) has been increasing for various reasons such as longer life span, medical progress, and others. It generally has a poor prognosis, and its mechanism of occurrence is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features of and clarify the prognostic factors of RGC.Methods: Between January 2002 and January 2017, 39 patients with RGC following distal gastrectomy underwent curative surgical resection at the Okayama University Hospital; their medical records and immunohistochemically stained extracted specimens were used for retrospective analysis. Results: On univariate analysis, initial gastric disease, pathological lymph node metastasis, and pathological stage were the significant factors associated with a poor overall survival (OS) (p=0.0139, 0.0061, and 0.0158, respectively). Multivariate analysis of these 3 factors showed that only initial gastric disease caused by malignant disease was an independent factor associated with a poor prognosis (p=0.0141, odds ratio [OR]:4.151, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.333-12.93). In addition, the presence of a left gastric artery (LGA), and tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell expression were higher in the benign disease group than in the malignant group (p<0.0001 and p=0.0485, respectively).Conclusion: The lymph flow change caused by lymph node dissection for malignant disease in initial surgery might have an effect on the suppression of tumor immunity and the poor prognosis of RGC.

Successful treatment of remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop syndrome managed by percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage followed by elective gastrectomy: a case report

Background There are only few reported cases of remnant gastric cancer with concomitant afferent loop syndrome. Emergency surgery is the standard treatment strategy for this disease. However, some afferent loop syndrome cases, especially those with complete obstruction, can lead to a septic state, which makes performing emergency surgery risky. We describe a case of remnant gastric cancer with complete afferent loop obstruction, which was successfully managed by radical surgery following percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage of the afferent loop. Case presentation A 71-year-old man presented with nausea and abdominal discomfort. When he was 27 years old, he had undergone distal gastrectomy for a benign gastric ulcer, with gastrojejunostomy (Billroth II reconstruction). Abdominal computed tomography revealed thickening of the anastomosis site and significant dilation of the afferent loop. Gastrointestinal fiberscopy revealed advanced remnant gastric cancer at the anastomosis site, and the stoma of the afferent loop was completely obstructed. We diagnosed the patient with remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop syndrome. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage was performed twice before surgery to decompress the afferent loop. This provided more time for the patient to recover. Radical surgery of total remnant gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction were performed electively. There were no severe postoperative complications. The patient died 8 months following the operation owing to peritoneal dissemination recurrence. Conclusion We encountered a case of remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop obstruction, which was successfully managed by radical surgery following decompression of the afferent loop by percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage effectively managed the afferent loop syndrome, resulting in the safe performance of elective surgery.

T stage and venous invasion are crucial prognostic factors for long-term survival of patients with remnant gastric cancer: A cohort study

Background The incidence of remnant gastric cancer (RGC) after distal gastrectomy is 1–5%. However, as the survival rate of patients with gastric cancer improves due to early detection and treatment, more patients may develop RGC. There is no consensus on the surgical and postoperative management of RGC, and the clinicopathological characteristics correlated with the long-term outcomes remain unclear. Therefore, we have investigated the clinicopathological factors associated with the long-term outcomes of RGC. Methods We included 65 consecutive patients who underwent gastrectomy for RGC from January 2000 to December 2015 at the Osaka Medical College, Japan. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to create survival curves, and differences in survival were compared between the groups (clinical factors, pathological factors, and surgical factors) using the log-rank test. Multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazard model were used to identify factors associated with long-term survival. Results There were no significant differences in the survival based on clinical factors (age, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus) or the type of remnant gastrectomy. There were significant differences in the survival based on pathological factors and surgical characteristics (intraoperative blood loss and operation time). Multivariate analysis revealed that the T stage (hazard ratio, 4.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.005–22.014; p = 0.049) and venous invasion (hazard ratio 3.047; 95% CI, 1.008–9.214; p = 0.048) were significant independent risk factors for long-term survival in patients who underwent radical resection for RGC. Conclusions T stage and venous invasion are important prognostic factors of long-term survival after remnant gastrectomy for RGC and may be key to managing and identifying therapeutic strategies for improving prognosis in RGC.

Laparoscopic gastrectomy in remnant gastric cancer

Objective: Remnant Gastric Cancer (RGC) describes cancers occurring in the remaining stomach and/or anastomosis in the follow-up after gastric cancer or benign gastric surgery. RGC is diagnosed in esophago-gastroscopy follow-ups of patients who underwent this surgery in the past. Again, the increase in the success of gastric cancer surgery and following medical treatments has increased the incidence of RGC in long-term follow-up after gastric cancer surgery. Laparoscopic surgery has been also reported in few cases. In the present study, the purpose was to present the results of the first five patients that underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy due to RGC in our clinic. Material and Methods: The patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery between November 2014 and December 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Mean age of the patients was 62.4 years (ranging between 49 and 74 years). Two of these patients had a surgical history due to gastric cancer and 3 due to peptic ulcer. Surgery was completed laparoscopically in all patients. In the early period, one patient had to undergo re-surgery due to stenosis in Jejuno-Jejunostomy, and the patient died. One patient underwent laparotomy due to colonic stenosis in the second month after the surgery. Recurrence was detected on the 140th and 180th days of follow-up in the other two patients. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is a technically applicable method in RGC; however, it is also a risk factor for past surgical postoperative complications. Early recurrence in this group of patients requires a comparison of open and laparoscopic surgery.