Palliative gastrectomy in advanced gastric cancer: is it worthwhile?

Gastric cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Many patients present late, and therefore, resections are often palliative in nature. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of resectional operation and the survival advantage of surgical resection in advanced gastric cancer. The effectiveness of palliation and the quality of life following operation for gastric cancer were assessed.

One hundred and fifty-one patients who underwent operation for gastric cancer at a tertiary centre in South India during a 5-year period between 1999 and 2003, were included in this study. Four sites of tumour spread were used as indicators of incurability in these patients. These were unresectable primary tumour or macroscopic residual primary tumour (T+), unresectable lymph nodal metastasis (L+), unresectable liver metastasis (H+) and peritoneal metastasis (P+). The resectability rate and survival were assessed in relation to these four factors.

The resectability rate decreased as the number of sites of tumour spread increased. The overall survival was significantly better in the subgroup of patients who had a resectional operation (total gastrectomy or subtotal gastrectomy), as opposed to the subgroup who had non-resectional operation (exploratory laparotomy or laparotomy with gastrojejunostomy) (P = 0.0003). This survival advantage of resectional operation disappeared when more than two sites of tumour spread were present. The quality of life was significantly better when a resection operation was carried out.

In advanced gastric cancer, palliative resection has a survival advantage if the tumour spread is restricted to two or less sites. Patients who undergo resectional operation have better palliation of symptoms and their postoperative quality of life is significantly better.