Investigation of the recurrence patterns of gastric cancer following a curative resection

The goal of this study was to investigate the recurrence patterns of gastric cancer and determine the predictive information of recurrence patterns of gastric cancer following a curative resection. This study retrospectively analyzed the data of 308 gastric cancer patients who underwent a curative resection, to identify the factors associated with the recurrence patterns. One hundred and sixty-nine gastric cancer patients had recurrence following curative resection. One hundred and twenty-six patients were observed for 3 years after the operation. Locoregional recurrence formed part of the recurrence pattern in 107 patients, peritoneal dissemination was observed in 98 patients, and distant metastasis occurred in 22 patients. A multivariate analysis revealed that locoregional recurrence was only associated with the Lauren classification (P = 0.003); peritoneal dissemination was only associated with N stage (P < 0.001); and distant metastasis was only associated with the Lauren classification (P = 0.016). Locoregional recurrence, peritoneal dissemination, and distant metastasis were the most common recurrence patterns of gastric cancer following a curative resection. Each recurrence pattern is associated with specific clinicopathological factors.