Outcome of distal gastric cancer with pyloric stenosis after curative resection

Aims Pyloric stenosis usually presents with symptoms, and this may lead patients to consult their physician. We evaluate whether distal gastric cancer patients with pyloric stenosis had a better outcome than those without. Methods A total of 551 distal gastric cancer patients who received curative subtotal gastrectomy between January 1988 and December 2003 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were analyzed. Among them, 174 patients were sorted into the pyloric stenosis group according to obstructive symptoms. Their clinicopathological features, survival and prognostic factors were evaluated. Results The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rate of distal third gastric adenocarcinoma for the pyloric stenosis group was significantly lower than those without pyloric stenosis. Multivariate analysis revealed the pyloric stenosis group had deeper cancer invasion (relative to pT1, RR of pT2 3.1, p = 0.009; pT3 6.1, p < 0.001; pT4 16.5, p < 0.001), and more lymph node metastasis (RR 3.6; p = 0.001). The pyloric stenosis group had a tendency to lymph node metastasis toward the hepatoduodenal ligament, but this did not reach statistical difference. However, the pyloric stenosis group had significantly higher lymph node metastasis in the retropancreatic region (5.17% vs. 0.53%; p = 0.001). Conclusions Distal gastric cancers with pyloric stenosis have worse biological behavior than those without, and consequently have a poor outcome.