EARLY GASTRIC-CANCER - RESULTS IN A GENERAL-HOSPITAL IN JAPAN

Patients (140) underwent surgical treatment for early gastric cancer. Cumulative and age-corrected cumulative 5-yr survival rates were 87.5 and 96.2%, respectively. Cumulative and age-corrected 10-yr survival rates were 68.5 and 88.3%, respectively. When cancerous tissue did not remain in the resectional stumps and no regional lymph node was metastasized, the survival was almost equal to that of the general population. Resection of the secondary lymph nodes is considered beneficial since 13.9% of cases had metastasized lymph nodes in this series. The 5-yr survival of 90% is a realistic figure for early gastric cancer, attainable in a general hospital which does not specialize in cancer research.