Long-term postoperative survival of a gastric cancer patient with numerous para-aortic lymph node metastases.

A56-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer was referred to our hospital. Preoperative abdominal computed tomography revealed numerous enlarged lymph nodes, including the lymph nodes of the paraaortic region. The patient underwent total gastralectomy, splenectomy, left-adrenalectomy and resection of the body and tail of the pancreas by Appleby's method, along with paraaortic lymph node dissection. Microscopic examination revealed that the tumor was a solid type, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, which displayed invasion of the serosal surface. There were apparently many lymph node metastases. We identified 31 cancer-positive paraaortic nodes, while the total number of lymph node metastases was 81. It was not possible to administer sufficient postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, as the patient experienced postoperative complications, including pancreatic fistula and watery diarrhea. Despite the lack of sufficient chemotherapy, the patient has subsequently remained disease-free for 9 years and 3 months, and continues to visit our hospital as an outpatient. In conclusion, we wish to emphasize the need for a critical application of paraaortic lymph node dissection as one modality of multidisciplinary treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer in whom paraaortic lymph node metastasis is strongly suspected preoperatively.