Prognostic significance of post-operative morbidity severity score after potentially curative D2 gastrectomy for carcinoma

Background Survival and relapse after gastric cancer surgery are largely attributed to tumor biology and surgical radicality; yet, other prognostic factors have been reported, including respiratory sepsis and anastomotic leakage, but not global morbidity severity score (MSS). The hypothesis tested was that MSS would be associated with both disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods Consecutive 373 patients undergoing potentially curative surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma between 2004 and 2016 in a UK cancer network were studied. Complications were defined prospectively as any deviation from a pre-determined post-operative course within 30 days of surgery and classified according to the Clavien-Dindo severity classification (CDSC). Primary outcome measures were DFS and OS. Results Post-operative complications were identified in 127 (34.0%) patients, which was associated with 9 (2.4%) post-operative deaths. Five-year DFS and OS were 35.9 and 38.5% for patients with a post-operative complication compared with 59.5 and 61.5% in controls (p < 0.001, p = 0.001, respectively). On multivariable DFS analysis, post-operative morbidity [hazard ratio (HR) 1.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–2.50, p = 0.026] was independently associated with poor survival. On multivariable OS analysis, post-operative morbidity HR 2.25 (95% CI 1.04–4.85, p = 0.039) and CDSC HR 1.76 (95% CI 1.35–2.29, p < 0.001) were independently associated with poor survival. These associations were also observed in patients with TNM stage I and II disease with morbidity HR 7.06 (95% CI 1.89–26.38, p = 0.004) and CDSC HR 2.93 (95% CI 1.89–4.55, p < 0.001) offering independent prognostic value. Conclusion Post-operative CDSC was an important independent prognostic factor after potentially curative gastrectomy for carcinoma associated with both DFS and OS. Prehabilitation strategies to minimize complications are warranted