Time-varying pattern of recurrence risk for gastric cancer patients.

This study analyzed the time-varying pattern of the recurrence risk for gastric cancer after surgery. A total of 1,222 gastric patients undergoing D2 resection surgery were studied retrospectively. The annual recurrence hazard curve for all of the populations showed one early peak and a late rise within 10 years after the surgery. The first major recurrence peak covers the first 3 years after the surgery, rising to a maximum at 1.5 years after surgery, followed by a decline until 7.5 years after the surgery, at which point the curve began to rise again. A subgroup analysis of this pattern also revealed that the curves of the patients with bigger tumors, poorly differentiated/undifferentiated adenocarcinomas, lymphatic/venous invasion, T3 and T4, node positive or with fewer lymph nodes retrieved were steeper. Chemotherapy can reduce the hazard rate for recurrence of gastric cancer. Our study confirms the time-varying pattern of the recurrence risk for gastric cancer, and it further supports the hypothesis of tumor dormancy after surgery. To effectively reduce the recurrence risk, new adjuvant therapies beyond chemotherapy may be needed.