Surgical Outcome of Synchronous Second Primary Cancer in Patients with Gastric Cancer

PURPOSE: In order to improve the likelihood of curative and safe gastric surgery, this study investigated the clinical features and surgical outcomes of gastric cancer with a synchronous cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 10,090 gastric cancer patients at Samsung Medical Center from September 1994 to December 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Of them, 90 patients with gastric cancer and a synchronous second primary cancer underwent simultaneous surgery for gastric cancer and second primary cancer. The clinicopathological characteristics of the patients, surgical outcome, and prognosis were examined. RESULTS: The most common synchronous second primary cancer was colorectal cancer (37 patients), followed by hepatocellular carcinoma (13 patients), renal cell carcinoma (11 patients), and pancreatic carcinoma (5 patients). The incidence of a second primary cancer in the gastric cancer patients was higher than the incidence in the general population. Stage I gastric cancer patients had more synchronous cancers than stage II patients (59 vs. 31). Postoperative complications were encountered in 7 patients. Four patients underwent reoperation. Two patients died from hepatic failure and leakage of esophagojejunal anastomosis. The 5-year survival rate of stage I and II gastric cancer was 61% and 39%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Since gastric cancer patients with a synchronous second primary cancer are not rare, the possibility of synchronous cancers in gastric cancer patients should be considered. The prognosis of early stage gastric cancer patients with a synchronous second primary cancer was influenced more by the presence of the second primary cancer than by the gastric cancer itself.