BACKGROUND: Although routine follow-up to detect asymptomatic recurrence after surgery for gastric cancer is recommended, the effect of such reassessment on survival has not been evaluated. METHODS: Clinical records of patients developing recurrent disease after potentially curative resection between 1985 and 1996 were retrieved. Among these patients, 197 were in our follow-up program. We analyzed survival in these patients according to the presence or absence of cancer-related symptoms when recurrent disease was diagnosed. RESULTS: Of all patients with recurrent disease, 50% were diagnosed within 1 year and 75% within 2 years of surgery. Asymptomatic recurrence, detected in 88 patients (45%), frequently represented distant metastasis. Although early detection significantly improved survival after detection of recurrent disease, disease-free survival for this subset was shorter. Thus, no significant difference in overall survival was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection of asymptomatic gastric cancer recurrence did not improve overall survival of patients with recurrence after curative resection. Until development of more effective treatment for this disease, close follow-up may offer no survival benefit.
BACKGROUND: Although routine follow-up to detect asymptomatic recurrence after surgery for gastric cancer is recommended, the effect of such reassessment on survival has not been evaluated. METHODS: Clinical records of patients developing recurrent disease after potentially curative resection between 1985 and 1996 were retrieved. Among these patients, 197 were in our follow-up program. We analyzed survival in these patients according to the presence or absence of cancer-related symptoms when recurrent disease was diagnosed. RESULTS: Of all patients with recurrent disease, 50% were diagnosed within 1 year and 75% within 2 years of surgery. Asymptomatic recurrence, detected in 88 patients (45%), frequently represented distant metastasis. Although early detection significantly improved survival after detection of recurrent disease, disease-free survival for this subset was shorter. Thus, no significant difference in overall survival was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection of asymptomatic gastric cancer recurrence did not improve overall survival of patients with recurrence after curative resection. Until development of more effective treatment for this disease, close follow-up may offer no survival benefit.
Authors: Leila Sisic; Moritz J Strowitzki; Susanne Blank; Henrik Nienhueser; Sara Dorr; Georg Martin Haag; Dirk Jäger; Katja Ott; Markus W Büchler; Alexis Ulrich; Thomas Schmidt Journal: Gastric Cancer Date: 2017-07-24 Impact factor: 7.370