Relative risk of stump cancer following partial gastrectomy

The relative risk of stump cancer following partial gastrectomy for a benign gastroduodenal condition was estimated using an individually matched retrospective study design based on autopsy material. Data on all patients dying with gastric cancer and autopsied at the Central Laboratory of Pathology, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, during 1961-75 were collected. Matched pairs of the same sex and age were used as controls. Of the 464 patients dying with gastric cancer, 9 had undergone previous partial gastrectomy, while the respective number among the controls was 5. This result suggests that the risk of cancer in the gastric stump was not significantly increased as compared to the normal unoperated population.