Published online Sep 26, 2019. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i18.2712
Peer-review started: June 18, 2019
First decision: July 30, 2019
Revised: August 6, 2019
Accepted: August 20, 2019
Article in press: August 20, 2019
Published online: September 26, 2019
Processing time: 104 Days and 4.3 Hours
Radical gastrectomy with D2 lymph node (LN) dissection is the standard surgical procedure for patients with resectable gastric cancer (GC). In the fifteenth edition of the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma, the 14v LN (LNs along the root of the superior mesenteric vein) was defined as the regional gastric LN. The efficacy of 14v LN dissection during radical distal gastrectomy for lower-third GC remains controversial.
To analyze whether the addition of 14v LN dissection improved the survival of patients with lower-third GC.
The data from 65 patients who underwent 14v LN dissection and 65 patients treated without 14v LN dissection were selected using the propensity score-matched method from our institute database constructed between 2000 and 2012. Overall survival was compared between the groups.
Overall survival was similar between patients with 14v LN metastasis and those with distant metastasis (P = 0.521). Among patients with pathological stage IIIA disease, those who were treated with 14v LN dissection had a significantly higher overall survival than those treated without it (P = 0.020). Multivariate analysis showed that age < 65 years and pT2-3 stage were independent favorable prognostic factors for prolonged overall survival in patients with pathological stage IIIA disease. Patients with No. 1, No. 6, No. 8a, or No. 11p LN metastasis were at higher risk of having 14v LN metastasis.
Adding 14v LN dissection to D2 dissection during radical distal gastrectomy may improve the overall survival of patients with pathological stage IIIA lower-third GC.
Core Tip: The efficacy of 14v lymph node (LN) dissection during radical distal gastrectomy for lower-third gastric cancer (GC) remains controversial. The present propensity score-matched study indicated that among pathological stage lower-third GC IIIA patients, 14v LN dissection resulted in longer survival compared to treatment without it. The overall survival of patients with 14v LN metastasis was similar with that of patients with distant metastasis.