OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological characteristics between mucinous gastric cancer (MGC) and poorly differentiated gastric cancer(PDGC) and factors associated with prognosis.

METHODSMedical records of 1016 consecutive patients with gastric cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Sixty-eight patients with MGC and 508 with PDGC were identified. Clinicopathologic characteristics and overall survival data were analyzed.

RESULTSAs compared to PDGC patients, patients with MGC were significantly older [(59.2±11.9) years vs. (54.1±13.2) years], had significantly more distant metastasis(36.8% vs. 23.8%), more peritoneal seeding(29.4% vs. 16.9%), and less radical resection(60.3% vs. 76.6%). There were no significant differences in 5-year survival rate between MGC and PDGC patients(29.4% vs. 35.5%). However, for tumors in the middle third of the stomach, the survival rate of MGC patients was lower than that of PDGC. Using a Cox proportional hazard ratio model, lymph node involvement and radical resection were independent prognostic factors for survival of MGC patients, while tumor invasion, lymph node involvement, and radical resection were associated with survival in patients with PDGC.

CONCLUSIONAlthough MGC and PDGC differ in age, frequencies of peritoneal seeding, distant metastasis, and rate of radical resection, overall survival is comparable.