Tumor size as a significant prognostic factor in T1 gastric cancer: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database analysis

BACKGROUND: It has previously been observed that the prognostic value of tumor size varied according to different stages patients enrolled in gastric cancer. We aimed to investigate the influence of T stage on the prognostic and predicting value of tumor size. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 13,585 patients with stage I–III gastric cancer were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis stratified by T stage were performed. C-index and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve were applied to assess discrimination ability of tumor size and other factors. Nomograms were constructed to further assess the performance of tumor size in a specific model. Calibration ability, discrimination ability, reclassification ability and clinical benefits were executed to judge the performance of models. RESULTS: Stratified analyses according to T stage illustrated that with the increase of T stage, the effect of tumor size on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) significantly decreased. Moreover, tumor size showed superior discrimination ability in T1 gastric cancer, outperformed other prognostic factors in predicting both CSS (C-index: 0.666, AUC: 0.687) and OS (C-index: 0.635, AUC: 0.660). The cox regression model included tumor size showed better performance than the model excluded tumor size in every aspect. CONCLUSION: T stage had a negative impact on the predicting value of tumor size. Tumor size showed significant prognostic value in T1 gastric cancer, which may be effective in clinical practice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-023-02737-z.