TRC amplification targeting carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA was applied to detect gastric cancer cells in peritoneal lavage fluids obtained during gastric cancer resections from nine different hospitals. A total of 137 patients with a clinical diagnosis of serosa-invading neoplasms were enrolled to investigate the correlation between the TRC diagnosis and patient prognosis.
Of the 137 patients, 27 (20%) were positive by cytologic examination. In contrast, TRC targeting carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA was positive in 59 of 137 (54%) patients. TRC positivity was associated with a poorer overall survival in all patients and in the 104 patients who underwent a curative operation. TRC positivity also was associated with the peritoneal recurrence-free survival rate in the 104 curative cases. Multivariate analysis showed that TRC positivity and the pathologic N factor were prognostic factors for the overall survival time.
Our prospective multicenter study showed that the TRC test using peritoneal lavage fluids could be a potential prognostic factor to predict patient survival and peritoneal recurrence with clinically diagnosed, serosa-invading gastric cancer.