Prognosis in gastric cancer associated with pregnancy

Gastric cancer concomitant with pregnancy is rare. In order to determine the clinical problems and practical guidelines on this particular subject, 61 Japanese patients were analyzed for clinical features and the results of obstetric and surgical treatment corresponding to the time of detection of the gastric cancer during the gestational period. The data indicated a limitation in diagnostic approaches caused by pregnancy and difficulty in saving both the mother and the fetus. Only 20 (58.8%) of the pregnant women underwent both obstetric treatment for the fetus and surgical treatment for gastric cancer. Fifty-nine of the gastric cancer cases (96.7%) were advanced and resectability was consistently low (47.5%). The patients who received gastrectomy had a high incidence of hospital death (22.7%) and a poor prognosis--21.1% 3-year survival. Based on the authors' cases of both early and advanced gastric cancer associated with pregnancy, the importance of early detection by gastroendoscopy is emphasized.