[What is the prognosis for patients with recurrent gastric carcinoma?]

The authors discuss the problem of relapses of gastric cancer, the conditions of its development and its possible treatment. As a basis they use experience with the treatment of 167 patients operated on account of this condition at the First Surgical Clinic in Olomouc in 1986-1993. In these patients 77 radical operations were performed, 25 developed a relapse of the tumor. Only in two patients it was possible to perform another resection--total gastrectomy. In these two re-resected patients the mean survival period was 9 months, in the remainder only two months. The authors conclude that in relapses of gastric cancer even several months' survival are a success.