The survival difference between gastric cancer patients from the UK and Japan remains after weighted propensity score analysis considering all background factors.

BACKGROUND

Previous studies comparing survival between gastric cancer (GC) patients from the West and the East were based on the assumption that background factors and prognostic factors were identical. The aim of the current study was to compare the survival of GC patients from the UK and Japan using weighted propensity score analysis after identifying all different background factors.

METHODS

Data from 464 patients from the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds, UK (LTHT), and 465 patients from the Kanagawa Cancer Center Hospital, Yokohama, Japan (KCCH), who had surgery for GC were analyzed. Prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. Survival was compared by propensity score weighting after adjusting for all significantly different background factors.

RESULTS

Most background factors were different between LTHT and KCCH patients. Unadjusted stage-specific OS and CSS were significantly better in KCCH. Independent prognostic factors for unadjusted OS and CSS were pT and pN in KCCH and in addition tumor location, pancreatectomy, resection margin status and number of examined lymph nodes in LTHT. Even after adjusting for all background characteristics, survival remained better in KCCH.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that differences in background factors are unable to fully explain the survival difference of GC patients between UK and Japan. Comprehensive studies into the biology of GC and/or host factors are needed to fully understand the survival difference.