Proposal of a new lymph node staging system for gastric cancer: study from two institutions in China.

The aim of this study was to identify the best cutoff points for lymph node classification to improve the prognostic prediction of gastric cancer in China. Patients who had undergone surgery for gastric cancer were retrospectively evaluated in two high-volume institutions from Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH, N=503) and Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University (AHQU, N=1,003). The prognosis of these patients was assessed according to the number of metastatic lymph nodes with an increment of one node at one time.

Lymph node micrometastases is a poor prognostic factor for patients in pN0 gastric cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: There is no consensus as to the impact of lymph node micrometastases (LNMM) on survival of patients with gastric cancer. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the prognostic significance of LNMM in patients with histologic node-negative gastric cancer.

Methods: We searched relevant studies from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (1966-2013.

Evaluation of the seventh AJCC TNM staging system for gastric cancer: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

The AJCC seventh edition TNM classification for gastric cancer was released in 2010 and included major revision. Large-volume gastric cancer centers have evaluated the prognostic significance of the new system and obtained paradoxical results. The authors performed a meta-analysis of these studies to evaluate the new classification.