Pre-operative staging of gastric carcinoma

This study is a prospective clinical investigation that includes 195 patients (pts), of whom 64 were diagnosed with gastric cancer and endosonographically determined operability. Endosonography is not used in the primary detection and diagnosis of gastric cancer, but as a supplementary method that, besides the basic detection of the presence or absence of a tumour, gives additional information about the extent of the neoplasm. For this investigation the patients were divided into 3 groups. The first group of 58 pts (30%) were those with benign gastric lesions, 18 pts with polyps and 40pts with gastric ulcers respectively. The second groups of 64 pts (32.5%) consisted of those with gastric cancer. According to the endosonographic findings this group consisted of 2 subgroups: 45 operable patients and 19 inoperable patients with gastric cancers. The third group consisted of 73 pts (37.5%) who were without any changes in the gastric wall. The endosonographic findings in the first subgroup that underwent surgery were correlated with the final intraoperative stage and pathohistology, and in the second subgroup they were compared with the operative finding during the palliation procedure and the final diagnosis of the additional investigation. All these qualities make this method useful for the diagnosis, control and follow-up of the findings in all of the stadiums of the disease including the post-operative period.