A Multidisciplinary Approach for Advanced Gastric Cancer with Paraaortic Lymph Node Metastasis

The prognosis for advanced gastric cancer with paraaortic lymph node (PALN) metastasis is very poor even after a curative resection. In the present study, induction chemotherapy followed by curative surgery was performed for advanced gastric cancer with PALN metastasis.

Twenty patients with no non-curative factors except PALN metastasis who showed good clinical response for induction chemotherapy were enrolled in the study.

Combined S-1 plus cisplatin chemotherapy was administered to 10 patients; docetaxel, 5-FU plus cisplatin, to 5; S-1 plus paclitaxel to 3; and capecitabine plus cisplatin, to 2 patients. The overall response rate was 80% (16 out of 20 patients responded). All patients underwent curative gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy including the PALNs. Out of the 20 patients, 8 survived more than 5 years, and the 3- and 5-year survival rates were 72% and 65%, respectively. Female gender and residual PALN metastasis were significantly associated with worse prognosis and patients with a diffuse-type histology had a tendency to worse prognosis.

Induction chemotherapy followed by curative surgery including extended PALN dissection seems a promising strategy for advanced gastric cancer with PALN metastasis as a sole distant metastasis, particularly for male patients and those with intestinal-type histology.