Clinicopathologic characteristics of second primary cancers in patients with gastric cancer

Abstract

[한글]

[영문]

Due to improved survival rate, gastric cancer patients have an increased risk of developing second primary cancers (SPC). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and outcomes of SPC in gastric cancer patients.Between January 1995 and December 2004, 8,839 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer were reviewed retrospectively based on the clinical information from health records and the survival database from the Korea National Statistical Office. Of 8,839 patients, 253 (2.9%) had a SPC. Of these, 123 (48.6%) had a synchronous cancer, while 130 (51.4%) had a metachronous cancer. The most prevalent site of SPC was the colorectum (18.2%), followed by the liver (16.6%), lung (14.2%), and esophagus (7.5%). The proportion and order of the common SPCs were roughly the same as their incidence in the general population. Survival analysis showed that patients with SPC had poorer outcomes than patients with only a gastric cancer. Also, patients with metachronous cancer had better survival rates than those with synchronous cancer. Because SPCs might influence in deciding the treatment strategy of gastric cancer and adversely impact the clinical outcome, clinicians need to pay attention to detect common SPCs in gastric cancer survivors.