Zero operative mortality for gastric cancer with hepatic cirrhosis

Thirty-two cases of gastric cancer associated with hepatic cirrhosis were reviewed, retrospectively. These patients represented 1.3% of 2590 patients with gastric cancer who were treated over the 23 year period from 1966 to 1988. The male to female ratio was 9.7:1 for gastric cancer patients with hepatic cirrhosis (mean age, 63.2 years) and 2:1 for all patients with gastric cancer (mean age, 61.2 years). Among the 32 patients, one was inoperable, and 31 patients underwent surgical exploration. The gastric cancers were resected in 28 patients (90.3%), while the cancers in 3 patients (9.7%) were non-resectable. Twenty-two patients underwent curative resections with a five-year survival rate of 51%. Postoperative complications occurred in 6 patients (20%), but no anastomotic leakage occurred. There were no operative mortalities. On the basis of the present study, different surgical procedures are indicated depending on the preoperative hepatic conditions for patients with gastric cancer accompanied by hepatic cirrhosis.