Detection and Characterization of Metastatic Cancer Cells in the Mesogastrium of Gastric Cancer Patients

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Here, we propose a novel type of tumor metastasis designated as Metastasis V in gastric cancer. Metastasis V is defined as the appearance of cancer cells in the mesogastrium with perigastric adipose tissue. To detect its incidence and characterize its clinic pathological features, large cross sectional tissue analysis of mesogastrium from 74 patients were used. Metastasis V was detected in 1 of 40 (2.5%) patients with early gastric cancer, 8 of 34 (24%) patients with advanced gastric cancer. The mean distance of Metastasis V from gastric wall was approximately 2.6 cm. Metastasis V was closely associated with tumor invasion depth, along with a number of positive lymph node metastasis. The prognosis of patients with Metastasis V was significantly (P<0.05) worse than those with tumor cell-free mesogastrium. These findings indicate that by using whole-sectional analysis, Metastasis V can be detected in the mesogastrium of gastric cancer patients, and also suggests that it may be a risk factor for patient survival after radical surgery.

胃癌是全球范围内第二大癌症相关死亡病因。本研究提出一种新型胃癌肿瘤转移类型，命名为V型转移（Metastasis V）。V型转移定义为胃系膜中出现癌细胞且伴随胃周脂肪组织受累。为明确该转移类型的发生率并阐明其临床病理特征，本研究对74例患者的胃系膜组织开展大规模横断面分析。结果显示，40例早期胃癌患者中1例（2.5%）检出V型转移，34例进展期胃癌患者中8例（24%）检出该转移类型。V型转移灶距胃壁的平均距离约为2.6厘米。V型转移与肿瘤浸润深度及阳性淋巴结转移数目密切相关。检出V型转移的患者预后显著差于胃系膜无癌细胞的患者（P<0.05）。本研究结果表明，通过全组织横断面分析，可在胃癌患者的胃系膜中检出V型转移；同时提示该转移类型可能是根治性手术后患者生存的危险因素。