Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jun 27, 2024; 16(6): 1637-1646
Published online Jun 27, 2024. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i6.1637
Analysis of lymph node metastasis and survival prognosis in early gastric cancer patients: A retrospective study
Dong-Yuan Liu, Jin-Jin Hu, Yong-Quan Zhou, Ai-Rong Tan
Dong-Yuan Liu, Department of General Surgery, The 971st Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Qingdao 266071, Shandong Province, China
Jin-Jin Hu, Department of Chest Surgery, Feicheng People's Hospital, Feicheng 271600, Shandong Province, China
Yong-Quan Zhou, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Ai-Rong Tan, Department of Oncology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao 266000, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Liu DY wrote the manuscript; Hu JJ and Zhou YQ collected the data; Tan AR guided the study; All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the final manuscript and revised it critically for important intellectual content, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been approved by the Clinical medical Research Ethics Committee of Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University.
Informed consent statement: This study has obtained the consent and signed informed consent of the patients and their families.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset are available from the corresponding author at airongtan0425@outlook.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: Ai-Rong Tan, MM, Doctor, Department of Oncology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, No. 5 Donghai Middle Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266000, Shandong Province, China. airongtan0425@outlook.com
Received: January 30, 2024
Revised: April 8, 2024
Accepted: May 6, 2024
Published online: June 27, 2024
Processing time: 151 Days and 15.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Early gastric cancer (EGC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system, and its lymph node metastasis and survival prognosis have been concerning. By retrospectively analyzing the clinical data of EGC patients, we can better understand the status of lymph node metastasis and its impact on survival and prognosis.

AIM

To evaluate the prognosis of EGC patients and the factors that affect lymph node metastasis.

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of 1011 patients with EGC admitted to our hospital between January 2015 and December 2023 were collected in a retrospective cohort study. There were 561 males and 450 females. The mean age was 58 ± 11 years. The patient underwent radical gastrectomy. The status of lymph node metastasis in each group was determined according to the pathological examination results of surgical specimens. The outcomes were as follows: (1) Lymph node metastasis in EGC patients; (2) Analysis of influencing factors of lymph node metastasis in EGC; and (3) Analysis of prognostic factors in patients with EGC. Normally distributed measurement data are expressed as mean ± SD, and a t test was used for comparisons between groups. The data are expressed as absolute numbers or percentages, and the chi-square test was used for comparisons between groups. Rank data were compared using a nonparametric rank sum test. A log-rank test and a logistic regression model were used for univariate analysis. A logistic stepwise regression model and a Cox stepwise regression model were used for multivariate analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the survival rate and construct survival curves. A log-rank test was used for survival analysis.

RESULTS

Analysis of influencing factors of lymph node metastasis in EGC. The results of the multifactor analysis showed that tumor length and diameter, tumor site, tumor invasion depth, vascular thrombus, and tumor differentiation degree were independent influencing factors for lymph node metastasis in patients with EGC (odds ratios = 1.80, 1.49, 2.65, 5.76, and 0.60; 95%CI: 1.29–2.50, 1.11–2.00, 1.81–3.88, 3.87-8.59, and 0.48-0.76, respectively; P < 0.05). Analysis of prognostic factors in patients with EGC. All 1011 patients with EGC were followed up for 43 (0–13) months. The 3-year overall survival rate was 97.32%. Multivariate analysis revealed that age > 60 years and lymph node metastasis were independent risk factors for prognosis in patients with EGC (hazard ratio = 9.50, 2.20; 95%CI: 3.31-27.29, 1.00-4.87; P < 0.05). Further analysis revealed that the 3-year overall survival rates of gastric cancer patients aged > 60 years and ≤ 60 years were 99.37% and 94.66%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The 3-year overall survival rates of patients with and without lymph node metastasis were 95.42% and 97.92%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The lymph node metastasis rate of EGC patients was 23.64%. Tumor length, tumor site, tumor infiltration depth, vascular cancer thrombin, and tumor differentiation degree were found to be independent factors affecting lymph node metastasis in EGC patients. Age > 60 years and lymph node metastasis are independent risk factors for EGC prognosis.

Keywords: Gastric neoplasms, Lymph node metastasis, Prognosis, Influencing factor, Retrospective study

Core Tip: The clinical data of patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) were retrospectively analyzed to investigate the lymph node metastasis and its influence on survival and prognosis. We will focus on the incidence of lymph node metastasis in patients with EGC and the correlation between the number of metastatic lymph nodes and the survival of patients. The results of this study are helpful to further understand the pathological characteristics of EGC patients and their impact on prognosis, and provide scientific basis for developing personalized treatment and improving the quality of life of patients.