Multivisceral resection for locally advanced gastric cancer: an Italian multicenter observational study.

Importance: The role of multivisceral resection, in the setting of locally advanced gastric cancer, is still debated. Previous studies have reported a higher risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality, with limited objective benefit in terms of survival. Conversely, recent studies have shown the feasibility of enlarged resections and the potential advantage of extended resection for clinical stage T4b gastric adenocarcinoma with good long-term results. Objective: To analyze the role of multivisceral resection for locally advanced gastric cancer with particular attention to the brief and long-term results and to the prognostic value of clinical and pathologic factors. Design: Prospective multicenter study using data from between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2008. Settings: Seven Italian surgery centers. Patients: A total of 2208 patients underwent curative resections for gastric carcinoma at the centers. Among them, 206 patients presented with a clinical T4b carcinoma. One hundred twelve underwent a combined resection of the adjacent organs with a gastrectomy owing to suspicion or direct invasion of these organs by the gastric cancer. Main Outcomes and Measures: Clinical and pathologic variables were prospectively collected and the feasibility and efficacy of multivisceral resection for locally advanced clinical T4b gastric cancer were assessed. Results: Postoperative mortality and complication rates of patients who underwent a gastrectomy with a combined resection of the involved organs were 3.6% and 33.9%, respectively. Pathologic factors revealed that the nodal involvement was present in about 89.3% of patients and the mean (SD) number of pathologic lymph nodes was 14.8 (16.6). The overall 5-year survival rate was 27.2%. The completeness of resection and lymph node invasion represent independent prognostic parameters at multivariate analysis. Conclusions and Relevance: Our study indicates that patients undergoing extended resections experience acceptable postoperative morbidity and mortality rates, and an en bloc multivisceral resection should be performed in patients when a complete resection can be realistically obtained and when lymph node metastasis is not evident.