Gastric Cancer with a Tumor Thrombus in the Peri-gastric Vein

Yoshiro Kubo, Akira Kurita and Shigemitsu Takashima

Department of Surgery, National Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital

We conducted a clinicopathologic study of ten cases of gastric cancer with a tumor thrombus in the peri-gantric vein during 12 years from 1986 through 1997. Gastric cancer with a tumor thrombus represented 0.7% of 1,345 gastric cancer resected in this period. The tumor thrombus was found in the lt. gastric vein in two cases, rt. gastroepiploic vein in two, peri-esophageal vein in one, splenic vein in four and superior mesenteric vein in one. The tumor's characteristic features included a large size and a dominance of differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and expanding growth modes. Nine cases were resected without residual tumors and four cases are alive without any evidence of recurrence 5 years after surgery. Extended excision of the lesions might be essential for improvement of prognosis in the case of gastric cancer with a tumor thrombus.

Key words
tumor thrombus, peri-gastric vein, gastric cancer, superior mesenteric vein, thrombectomy

Reprint requests
Yoshiro Kubo Department of Surgery, National Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital 13 Horinouchi, Matsuyama, 790-0007 JAPAN

Accepted
September 22, 1999

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