Cancer of remnant stomach following gastric surgery for benign conditions.

Eighteen patients received gastrectomy for primary cancer of the gastric remnant were studied clinico-histopathologically. Gastric ulcer had been the most common condition requiring previous gastric surgery, and Billroth II resection had been the most often employed procedure. The cancer of the gastric remnant was in an advanced stage in all patients. Tumors were detected in the sutured or anastomosed region (especially the latter) of the remnant stomach in a great majority of the patients studied. In spite of combined resection of the adjacent organs, such as spleen, pancreas and colon in most patients, curative resection could be done in only a half of them and the prognosis was poor in general. These observations seem to stress the importance of following up gastrectomized patients periodically and precautiously by endoscopic examination with multiple biopsy, because early detection of cancer of remnant stomach may lead to improvements in therapeutic results.