A grading system for predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer with liver metastasis

Objective: The prognosis of patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer is determined using tumor size and number of metastases; this is similar to the factors used for the prediction of liver metastases from colorectal cancer. The relationship between the degree of liver metastasis from gastric cancer and prognosis with reference to the classification of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer was investigated. Methods: This was a multi-institutional historical cohort study. Among patients with stage IV gastric cancer, who visited the cancer hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, between 2008 and 2015, those with simultaneous liver metastasis were included. Abdominal pretreatment computed tomography images were reviewed and classified into H1 (four or less liver metastases with a maximum diameter of <= 5 cm); H2 (other than H1 and H3) or H3 (five or more liver metastases with a maximum diameter of >= 5 cm). The hazard ratio for overall survival according to the H grade (H1, H2 and H3) was calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: A total of 412 patients were analyzed. Patients with H1, H2 and H3 grades were 118, 162 and 141, respectively, and their median survival time was 10.2, 5.7 and 3.1 months, respectively (log-rank P < 0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio for overall survival was H1: H2: H3 = reference: 1.39 (95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.85): 1.69 (95% confidence interval: 1.27-2.27). Conclusions: The grading system proposed in this study was a simple and easy-to-use prognosis prediction index for patients with liver metastasis from gastric cancer.