Lymph node metastasis and prognostic analysis of early gastric cancer patients

Objective To investigate the correlation between clinicopathological features and lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer(EGC) and evaluate the influence of lymph node metastasis on the overall survival. Methods The clinicopathological data of 178 EGC patients undergoing radical gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy in Peking University First Hospital between Jan 2006 and Dec 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The impact of lymph node metastasis on the overall survival was analyzed. Results Lymph node metastasis was detected in 19 (10.7%) of 178 patients. Univariate analysis showed a positive relationship between tumor size (χ2=4.804, P=0.028), depth of invasion(χ2=8.176, P=0.003), histological type (χ2=4.333, P=0.037), vascular tumor thrombus (χ2=9.992, P=0.002) and lymph node metastasis in EGC. Multivariate analysis revealed that depth of invasion(Wald=4.954, P=0.026) and intra-vascular tumor thrombus (Wald=3.966, P=0.046)were independent relative factors of lymph node metastasis in EGC patients. The 5-year survival rates of EGC patients with lymph node metastasis were 78.9%, much lower than that without lymph node metastasis (94.3%, χ2=8.310, P=0.004). Conclusions Lymph node metastasis in EGC is mainly correlated with depth of invasion and intra-vascular tumor thrombus. The prognosis of patients with lymph node metastasis is significantly poorer than those without lymph node metastasis. Key words: Stomach neoplasms; Lymphatic metastasis; Prognosis