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The Effect of Palliative Invasive Interventions on Overall Survival in the Last 3 Months of Life in Metastatic Gastric Cancer

  • Original Research
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Abstract

Purpose

Gastric cancer is one of the biologically aggressive and highly mortal cancers. In addition to limited treatment options, especially in advanced stages, palliative treatment methods are applied to increase patients’ quality of life with gastric cancer. This study aims to discuss the effects of paracentesis, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, double J catheter nephrostomy, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), and abscess drainage catheter placement procedures applied in the last 3 months for problems requiring palliation, in the light of literature.

Method

The patient characteristics of the patients and, in addition, the history of any invasive intervention for palliative treatment in the last 3 months were questioned and recorded with the electronic medical record system. The effect of an invasive intervention on survival was examined. The data of patients with metastatic gastric cancer followed in the medical oncology clinic between February 2012 and May 2020 were reviewed retrospectively.

Conclusions

In this study, in which the effect of palliative invasive intervention (PIG) stories on survival in the last 3 months of life of patients diagnosed with metastatic gastric cancer was examined, no significant difference was found between those who underwent PIG and those who did not, in terms of overall survival. However, since PIG was not included in the design of our study, the effect of PIG in terms of quality of life, mood, motivation of patient relatives, and the cost is unknown.

Results

In the final analysis, it was noted that 143 (94.1%) of the 152 patients included in the study died and 9 (5.9%) were still alive. Overall survival of all patients was reported as 12.9 months (95% CI, 10.9-14.9). The mean overall survival of 36 patients who underwent palliative invasive intervention (PIG) in the last 3 months was 13.0 months (95% CI, 9.1-17.0), and a similar 13.0 months (95% CI, 10.6-15.3) of 116 patients who did not undergo PIG no significant difference was found (p: 0.887).

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Acknowledgements

Endless thanks to all patients supporting the operation of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manisa Celal Bayar University, Medical Oncology Department, Manisa, Turkey

    Ferhat Ekinci & Atike Pınar Erdoğan

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  1. Ferhat Ekinci
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  2. Atike Pınar Erdoğan
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Correspondence to Ferhat Ekinci.

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Ekinci, F., Erdoğan, A.P. The Effect of Palliative Invasive Interventions on Overall Survival in the Last 3 Months of Life in Metastatic Gastric Cancer. J Gastrointest Canc 53, 496–501 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00780-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00780-1

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