LAUSR

BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence has confirmed the potential prognostic value of LVI in patients with cancers. This aim of the current study was to clarify the potential relationship between LVI and lymph node metastasis, establish predictive clinicopathologic prognostic factors for LVI and lymph node metastasis, and determine the prognostic significance of LVI for patients younger than 70 years with resected gastric cancer. METHODS Overall survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Differences in proportions of patients were tested with the χ2 test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to identify independent prognostic factors. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the risk factors predicting the presence of LVI and LN metastasis. RESULTS Univariate analysis led to the identification of tumor size, LVI and pN stage as factors significantly correlated with prognosis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that tumor size, LVI, pN stage, and number of LNs retrieved are independent prognostic factors for the entire population. Logistic regression analysis proved that LVI and pT stage were significantly associated with LN metastasis. CONCLUSION LVI is an independent prognostic factor predicting LN metastasis and a strongly independent predictor of survival for patients with resected gastric cancer. We recommend that LVI should be taken into account as an important adjuvant prognostic factor, specially for pN0 cases with inadequate LNs retrieved. And the maximum number of LNs possible should be retrieved for optimal staging, especially for patients with higher cT stage.