Treatment and prognosis of gastric stump carcinoma in comparison with primary proximal gastric cancer

Background The intention of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients with gastric stump cancer (GSC) in comparison with patients treated for primary proximal gastric cancer (PPGC). Methods Nineteen patients with GSC undergoing surgery between January 1989 and August 2005 were compared with 194 PPGC patients treated during the same time period. Various factors such as epidemiologic data, type of treatment, and histopathologic data were evaluated in the analysis. Results The overall 5-year disease-specific survival was 42% for resected GSC patients in comparison with 37% for resected PPGC patients. There was no statistically significant difference in the survival rate detected between these 2 groups. On multivariate analysis the infiltration of the gastrojejunal anastomosis by the carcinoma was shown to be a significant predictor for the outcome of patients with GSC. Conclusions In summary, no significant difference in the outcome between GSC and PPGC has been detected.