Anthropometric Study of the Stomach

The aim of this study was to establish an anthropometric reference of the stomach for gastric cancer surgery and a modeling formula to predict stomach length.

Data were retrieved for 851 patients who underwent total gastrectomy at the Seoul National University Hospital between 2008 and 2013. Clinicopathological data and measurements from a formalin-fixed specimen were reviewed. The lengths (cm) of the greater curvature (GC) and lesser curvature (LC) were measured. Anthropometric data of the stomach were compared according to age, body weight, height (cm), and body mass index. To predict stomach length, two multiple regression analyses were performed.

The mean lengths of the GC and LC were 22.2±3.1 cm and 16.3±2.6 cm, respectively. The men's GC length was significantly greater than the women's (22.4±3.1 cm vs. 21.2±2.9 cm, P=0.003). Patients aged >70 years showed significantly longer LC than those aged <50 years (16.9±2.9 cm vs. 15.9±2.4 cm, P=0.002). Patients with body weights >70 kg showed significantly longer GC than those with body weights <55 kg (23.0±2.9 cm vs. 21.4±3.2cm, P<0.001). In the predicted models, 4.11% of the GC was accounted for by age and weight; and 4.94% of the LC, by age, sex, height, and weight.

Sex, age, height, and body weight were associated with the length of the LC, while sex and body weight were the only factors that were associated with the length of the GC. However, the prediction model was not sufficiently strong.