Selecting patients for gastrectomy in metastatic esophago-gastric cancer: clinics and pathology are not enough.

Aim: To evaluate the impact on overall survival (OS) of gastrectomy in asymptomatic metastatic esophago-gastric cancer.

Patients & Methods: Five hundred and thirteen patients were included. The role of surgery and other clinico-pathological factors was evaluated by univariate and Cox regression analyses. OS was the primary end point.

Results: Multivariate analysis confirmed that gastrectomy was a predictor of longer OS (p < 0.001), as well as preserved performance status and benefit from first-line chemotherapy. None of the investigated clinico-pathological variables identified preferable candidates for surgery (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Palliative gastrectomy might play a role in asymptomatic metastatic esophago-gastric cancer patients with good performance status who received benefit from first-line chemotherapy. Future prospective trials integrating tumor biology among inclusion criteria may help defining the optimal candidates.