Clinicopathological features of stomach cancer with invasive micropapillary component

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma has been recognized as a rare disease entity with aggressive tumor behavior. However, few reports have described invasive micropapillary carcinoma in the gastrointestinal tract, particularly its involvement in gastric cancer.

We retrospectively analyzed 930 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy, and we then histopathologically evaluated the existence of a regional invasive micropapillary component. Clinicopathological features were investigated in patients with an invasive micropapillary component and compared with such features in 100 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, selected as stage-matched controls, who underwent gastrectomy during the same period.

Of the 930 patients, 14 were histopathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer with a regional invasive micropapillary component. There were no significant differences in age, gender, tumor location, macroscopic type, or type of surgery between patients with an invasive micropapillary component and the pT-matched controls. Histopathologically, significant differences were observed in lymphatic infiltration, venous invasion, the percentage of cases with lymph node metastasis, and the median number of metastatic lymph nodes. The three-year disease-free and overall survival rates of patients with an invasive micropapillary component were 40.5 and 59.3%, respectively, compared with those for the stage-matched controls, which were 72.6 and 80.6%, respectively (p = 0.02 and 0.07).

Patients with gastric cancer with a regional invasive micropapillary component showed marked cancer infiltration in the lymphatic pathway and poor prognosis after gastrectomy.