Tumor-positive peritoneal cytology in patients with gastric cancer is associated with poor outcome: A nationwide study

Background: The clinical significance of tumor-positive peritoneal cytology (CYT+) in gastric cancer (GC) patients is unclear. This nationwide cohort study aimed to i) assess the frequency of cytological analysis at staging laparoscopy; ii) determine the prevalence of CYT+GC; and iii) compare overall survival (OS) in CYT+ patients versus those with (PM+) and those without (PM-) macroscopic peritoneal disease. Methods: All patients diagnosed with cT1–4, cN0–2 and M0 or synchronous PM GC between 2016–2021 were identified in the Netherlands Cancer Registry database and linked to the nationwide pathology database. Results: A total of 4397 patients was included, of which 40 % underwent cytological assessment following staging laparoscopy (863/1745). The prevalence of CYT+ was 8 %. A total of 69 patients had CYT+(1.6 %), 789 (17.9 %) had PM+ and 3539 (80.5 %) had PM- disease. Hazard ratio for OS in CYT+ versus PM+ was 0.86 (95 %CI 0.64–1.17, p-value=0.338), and in PM- versus PM+0.43 (95 %CI 0.38–0.49, p-value<0.001). No survival difference was found between systemic chemotherapy versus surgical resection in CYT+ patients. Discussion: In this nationwide study, OS for gastric cancer patients with CYT+ was equally unfavorable as for those with PM+ and significantly worse as compared to those with PM-. The optimal treatment strategy has yet to be established.