[Basic directions in studying cancer of the resected stomach]

The causes, incidence of, and the time of occurrence of cancer of the stomach resected for benign diseases are analyzed. The outcomes of 384 operations for recurrent gastric cancer, including 174 radical ones, are presented. The highest resectability was noted in late recurrence and following Bilroth-II gastrectomy with long-loop forward colonic anastomosis. The late outcomes depend on the time of recurrence, its location in the remaining part of the stomach, and the presence of lymphogenic metastases. Experience of 16 extirpations of esophagojejunal anastomosis was used to show whether recurrent gastric cancer after gastrectomy with satisfactory immediate and long-term outcomes can be surgically treated. The fate of 292 patients with gastric cancer in whom tumor cells were detected along the line of resection is traced. Preventive resurgery in this group of patients is not unjustifiable as in 80.8% of them recurrence fails to occur at all or is followed by late metastases.