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Objective: We sought to define criteria associated with low lymph node metastasis risk in patients with submucosal (pT1b) gastric cancer from 3 Western and 3 Eastern countries. Summary Background Data: Accurate prediction of lymph node metastasis risk is essential when determining the need for gastrectomy with lymph node dissection following endoscopic resection. Under present guidelines, endoscopic resection is considered definitive treatment if submucosal invasion is only superficial, but this is not routinely assessed. Methods: Lymph node metastasis rates were determined for patient groups defined according to tumor pathological characteristics. Clinicopathological predictors of lymph node metastasis were determined by multivariable logistic regression and used to develop a nomogram in a randomly selected subset that was validated in the remainder. Overall survival was compared between Eastern and Western countries. Results: Lymph node metastasis was found in 701 of 3166 (22.1%) Eastern and 153 of 560 (27.3%) Western patients. Independent predictors of lymph node metastasis were female sex, tumor size, distal stomach location, lymphovascular invasion, and moderate or poor differentiation. Patients fulfilling the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline criteria, excluding the requirement that invasion not extend beyond the superficial submucosa, had a lymph node metastasis rate of 8.9% (53/594). Excluding moderately differentiated tumors lowered the rate to 3.4% (10/296). The nomogram's area under the curve was 0.690. Regardless of lymph node status, overall survival was better in Eastern patients. Conclusions: The lymph node metastasis rate was lowest in patients with well differentiated tumors that were 3 cm and lacked lymphovascular invasion. These criteria may be useful in decisions regarding endoscopic resection as definitive treatment for pT1b gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer; Metastasectomy; Oligometastasis Cáncer gástrico; Metastasectomía; Oligometástasis Càncer gàstric; Metastasectomia; Oligometàstasi Background Local treatment improves the outcomes for oligometastatic disease (OMD, i.e. an intermediate state between locoregional and widespread disseminated disease). However, consensus about the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop a multidisciplinary European consensus statement on the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer. Methods In total, 65 specialists in the multidisciplinary treatment for oesophagogastric cancer from 49 expert centres across 16 European countries were requested to participate in this Delphi study. The consensus finding process consisted of a starting meeting, 2 online Delphi questionnaire rounds and an online consensus meeting. Input for Delphi questionnaires consisted of (1) a systematic review on definitions of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer and (2) a discussion of real-life clinical cases by multidisciplinary teams. Experts were asked to score each statement on a 5-point Likert scale. The agreement was scored to be either absent/poor (2 years, either upfront local treatment or systemic treatment followed by restaging was considered as treatment (fair agreement). Conclusion The OMEC project has resulted in a multidisciplinary European consensus statement for the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer. This can be used to standardise inclusion criteria for future clinical trials.

Survival of recurrent esophageal cancer is usually poor, with limited prospects of remission. This study investigated the predictors, patterns and survival of recurrent disease following esophageal cancer surgery. This nationwide cohort study included patients with resectable distal esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma undergoing curatively intended esophagectomy from January 2007 until December 2016 (follow-up until January 2020). Patients with distant metastases detected during surgery were excluded. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify predictors of recurrent disease. Multivariable Cox regression was used to determine the association of recurrence site (locoregional or distant) and treatment intent (none, palliative, curative) with post-recurrence survival. Among 4626 patients, 45.1% developed recurrent disease at a median of 11 months postoperatively, of whom most had distant metastases (59.8%). Disease recurrences were most frequently hepatic (26.2%) or pulmonary (25.1%). Young age (≤65 years), male sex, adenocarcinoma, open surgery, transthoracic esophagectomy, non-radical resection, higher T-stage, and (y)pN+ stage were significantly associated with disease recurrence. Overall, median post-recurrence survival was 4 months (95%CI 3.6–4.4). Median survival after locoregional recurrence was 7 months (95%CI 5.7–8.4) and favorable compared to distant recurrence (HR = 0.74, 95%CI 0.65–0.84). For 127 patients that underwent curatively intended treatment for recurrence, median survival was 20 months (95%CI 16.4–23.7). This study provides important prognostic information assisting in the surveillance and counseling of patients after curatively intended esophageal cancer surgery. Nearly half of included patients developed recurrent disease, and risk of recurrence was higher in patients with, amongst others, higher tumor stage, non-radical resection and tumor positive lymph nodes. Overall, patients with recurrent disease had limited prospects of survival, although median survival after curatively intended treatment reached 20 months.