Prognostic impact and reasons for variability by tumor location in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal tract tumor. Several trials have demonstrated that the location of GC can affect patient prognosis. However, the factors determining tumor location remain unclear.

To investigate the tumor location of patients, we went on to study the influencing factors that lead to changes in the location of GC.

A retrospective evaluation was carried out on 3287 patients who underwent gastrectomy for GC in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. The patients were followed up post-diagnosis and post-gastrectomy. The clinicopathological variables and overall survival of the patients were recorded. By analyzing the location of GC, the tumor location was divided into four categories: "Upper", "middle", "lower", and "total". Statistical software was utilized to analyze the relationship of each variable with the location of GC.

A total of 3287 patients were included in this study. The clinicopathological indices of gender, age, serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA19-9) and CA72-4 levels, were significantly associated with tumor location in patients with GC. In addition, there was a strong correlation between GC location and the prognosis of postoperative patients. Specifically, patients with "lower" and "middle" GC demonstrated a better prognosis than those with tumors in other categories.

The five clinicopathological indices of gender, age, CEA, CA19-9 and CA72-4 levels exhibit varying degrees of influence on the tumor location. The tumor location correlates with patient prognosis following surgery.