Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Dec 27, 2024; 16(12): 3720-3728
Published online Dec 27, 2024. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i12.3720
Risk factors for lymph node metastasis and invasion depth in early gastric cancer: Analysis of 210 cases
Yu Xiang, Li-Di Yao
Yu Xiang, Department of Gastroenterology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Li-Di Yao, Department of Radiology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Xiang Y and Yao LD designed the study and performed the experiments; Xiang Y and Yao LD collected the data; Xiang Y analyzed the data; Xiang Y and Yao LD prepared the manuscript; All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Huzhou Central Hospital, No. 2017-25.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patients and/or their guardians.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request at xyu@hzhospital.com.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Di Yao, MD, Doctor, Department of Radiology, Huzhou Central Hospital, No. 1558 North Sanhuan Road, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China. xyu@hzhospital.com
Received: June 20, 2024
Revised: September 25, 2024
Accepted: October 23, 2024
Published online: December 27, 2024
Processing time: 160 Days and 4.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early gastric cancer (EGC) is often associated with the risk of lymph node metastasis, which influences treatment decisions. Despite the use of enhanced computed tomography, the prediction of lymph node involvement remains challenging.

AIM

To investigate the risk factors for lymph node metastasis and invasion depth in patients with EGC.

METHODS

In total, 210 patients with pathologically diagnosed EGC were included in this study. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to predict risk factors for lymph node metastasis and invasion depth in patients with EGC.

RESULTS

Among the 210 patients, 27 (12.9%) had lymph node metastases. Of the 117 patients with submucosal gastric cancer, 24 (20.5%) had lymph node metastases. Both univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that the depth of invasion in EGC was a risk factor for lymph node metastasis in these patients. Additionally, pathological type was identified as a risk factor for cancer cell invasion in patients with EGC.

CONCLUSION

EGC invasion depth, not tumor type, size, age, sex, or location, predicts lymph node spread. Tumor type, not size, age, sex, or location, predicts cancer cell invasion.

Keywords: Early gastric cancer; Lymph node metastasis; Invasion depth; Risk factors; Submucosal invasion; Pathological type

Core Tip: This study investigates the risk factors for lymph node metastasis and invasion depth in early gastric cancer (EGC) by analyzing 210 cases from Huzhou Central Hospital. Our findings highlight that invasion depth and pathological type are significant predictors of lymph node metastasis in EGC, while other factors such as tumor size, age, gender, and tumor location are not. The study underscores the importance of assessing invasion depth and pathological type in EGC diagnosis and treatment planning, offering valuable insights for improving patient outcomes.