Prognosis for patients with carcinoma in the middle third of the stomach

In 268 of the 1,115 patients (24.0%) with gastric cancer who underwent a curative resection in our clinics, the tumor was located in the middle third of the stomach. The clinicopathological features and prognosis of these patients were divided into two groups, according to site of the tumor: anterior wall (n = 58) vs. other sites (n = 210). Clinicopathological factors did not differ between the two groups. The survival time for patients with a tumor in the anterior group was shorter than that for patients with a tumor in other areas (P < 0.05). The five-year survival rate was 79.3% for patients with an anterior tumor and 91.9% for those with a tumor at a different site. A multivariate analysis indicated lymph node metastasis, serosal invasion, and anterior wall location to be independent prognostic factors indicative of a poor prognosis when the tumor was located in the middle third of the stomach. For such patients, close follow-up is needed to detect possible recurrences.