Prognostic impact of prophylactic splenectomy for upper-third gastric cancer: a cohort study.

Abstract

AIM:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of splenectomy on survival outcomes and recurrence in patients who underwent curative surgery for gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

This is a retrospective study of 129 patients who underwent upper-third gastric cancer curative resection with lymphadenectomy. Forty-two patients (32%) also underwent splenectomy.

RESULTS:

The median follow-up period was 33 months. Approximately 40% of the patients had lymph node metastases; four of them had nodal involvement along the splenic artery and 5 had nodal involvement at the splenic hilum. No patients in the pT1-2 group with nodal metastases had involvement of the splenic hilar lymph nodes. There was no significant association between splenectomy and either overall or disease-free survival in the patients.

CONCLUSION:

Splenectomy should not be performed in patients with pT1-2 tumors for prophylactic lymphadenectomy.

• Authors: Hiroaki Ito, Haruhiro Inoue, Noriko Odaka, Hitoshi Satodate, Shumpei Mukai, Tomokatsu Omoto, Yusuke Takehara, Shin-Ei Kudo
• Journal: Anticancer research (Anticancer Res) Vol. 33 Issue 1 Pg. 277-82 (Jan 2013) ISSN: 1791-7530 [Electronic] Greece
• PMID: 23267157 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Cohort Studies
• Disease-Free Survival
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Lymph Node Excision (methods)
• Lymph Nodes (pathology, surgery)
• Lymphatic Metastasis (pathology)
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis
• Spleen (pathology, surgery)
• Splenectomy (methods)
• Stomach Neoplasms (pathology, surgery)