Prognostic impact and reasons for variability by tumor location in gastric cancer.

[BACKGROUND] Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal tract tumor. Several trials have demonstrated that the location of GC can affect patient prognosis. However, the factors determining tumor location remain unclear.

[AIM] To investigate the tumor location of patients, we went on to study the influencing factors that lead to changes in the location of GC.

[METHODS] A retrospective evaluation was carried out on 3287 patients who underwent gastrectomy for GC in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. The patients were followed up post-diagnosis and post-gastrectomy. The clinicopathological variables and overall survival of the patients were recorded. By analyzing the location of GC, the tumor location was divided into four categories: "Upper", "middle", "lower", and "total". Statistical software was utilized to analyze the relationship of each variable with the location of GC.

[RESULTS] A total of 3287 patients were included in this study. The clinicopathological indices of gender, age, serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA19-9) and CA72-4 levels, were significantly associated with tumor location in patients with GC. In addition, there was a strong correlation between GC location and the prognosis of postoperative patients. Specifically, patients with "lower" and "middle" GC demonstrated a better prognosis than those with tumors in other categories.

[CONCLUSION] The five clinicopathological indices of gender, age, CEA, CA19-9 and CA72-4 levels exhibit varying degrees of influence on the tumor location. The tumor location correlates with patient prognosis following surgery.