[Indication of radical surgery (R2, R3) based upon the pattern of lymph node metastasis from gastric cancer]

From Jan. 1980 to June. 1984, radical operation was performed in 156 patients with gastric cancer according to the "protocol" introduced by the Gastric Cancer Research Society of Japan. There were 24 early and 132 advanced gastric cancers. Seventy patients were treated by type R2, 86 by R+2 and R3. Radical distal subtotal gastrectomy was done in 116, proximal subtotal gastrectomy in 7, simple total gastrectomy in 13 and subtotal or total gastrectomy combined with neighbouring organ resection in 20. According to TNM staging, 24 (15.4%) lesions were stage I, 9 (5.8%) stage II, 100 (64.1%) stage III and 23 (14.7%) stage IV. Twenty four lesions were within the mucosa or submucosal layer, 11 in proprius muscle layer, 18 to subserosa, 15 to serosa, 46 beyond serosa, 42 involving the surrounding organs. Lymph node metastatic rate was 66% (103 cases), metastatic degree was 21.5% (558/2593). The metastatic degree of lymph node line I, II and III was 24.7%, 20% and 8.3%, respectively. Basing on lymph node metastatic rate and degree as well as the line degree, it is proposed that, in the early stage of gastric cancer, type R1 be performed for cancer limited to the mucosa, especially the minute type, R2 for cancer invading the submucosa, in which, R+2 be indicated for some isolated patients. In the advanced gastric cancer, type R+2 be performed in the majority of patients and R3 in a few. R3 or total gastrectomy combined with neighbouring organ resection be carried out only in a part of cases with the limited type infiltrating beyond the serosa or invading the neighbouring organs.