Early gastric cancer: unrecognized indicator of multiple malignancies.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative outcome and occurrence of second primary malignancies in patients who underwent radical resection for early gastric cancer. Altogether 105 patients with early gastric cancer underwent radical resection and were followed up for a median period of 71 months. Overall lethality was analyzed with regard to mortality due to gastric cancer or other causes. Standardized mortality and morbidity ratios were calculated using data from the Tumor Registry of Lombardy. The 5-year survival rate was 82.8% (operative mortality excluded), which was not different from that expected from an age- and sex-matched Italian population. Ten second primary malignancies were identified, giving a standardized mortality ratio of 1.12 and a standardized morbidity ratio of 1.50. Patients undergoing surgery for early gastric cancer (especially the intestinal type) may have a circa 50% higher risk of a second tumor and should be periodically checked for other tumors, mainly in the supramesocolic area.