Multiorgan resection for gastric cancer: intraoperative and computed tomography assessment of locally advanced disease is inaccurate.

Multiorgan resection of locally advanced gastric cancer has previously been associated with increased morbidity. This study was performed to determine the actual prevalence of pathologic T4 disease in multiorgan gastric resection specimens excised for presumed clinical T4 gastric cancer. A prospective oncology database was queried to identify gastric cancer patients who underwent en bloc multiorgan resection for clinical T4 lesions. Four hundred eighteen patients with gastric cancer underwent gastrectomy between 1990 and 2002. Multiorgan resection was performed in 21 of 418 (5%) patients. Multiorgan resection was not associated with a significant increase in morbidity or mortality. Pathologically confirmed T4 disease was present in only 8 of 21 (38%) patients; the pathologic T stage in all remaining patients was T3 (13 [62%]). Fifteen patients were evaluated by preoperative computed tomography scan. Preoperative computed tomography was inaccurate in assessing T4 lesions, with a positive predictive value of only 50%. Multiorgan resection was safely performed in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. Pathologic T4 disease was present in only one third of multiorgan resections performed for en bloc excision of locally advanced gastric cancer. Improved methods for intraoperative assessment of disease extension to adjacent viscera should be investigated.