[Cancer of the operated stomach as a problem of oncology today]

The study was based on the data obtained from a long-term follow-up of 2840 cases of various surgical pathology of the stomach, gastroscopic examination of 1112 surgically-treated patients, experiments on stomach carcinogenesis, clinical and experimental studies on lymph drainage pathways and analysis of the results of 296 radical operations for cancer of the gastric stump. The following aspects of research in cancer of operated stomach were suggested: (1) risk of cancer development in operated stomach; (2) factors contributing to tumorigenesis; (3) biologic peculiarities of growth of gastric stump tumors as well as lymph drainage pathways, and (4) organization of follow-up and development of methods for diagnosis and treatment of the said pathology. The results of the study outlined vistas in prevention of cancer of the gastric stump. Adequate methods of diagnosis and treatment of this grave pathology were developed which was followed by a decrease in postoperative lethality and in increase in 5-year survival rate--to 8.5 and 26.4%, respectively.