This study examined whether detection of occult neoplastic cells (ONCs) in lymph nodes or the high-risk criteria for recurrence/metastasis of colorectal cancer were useful for predicting the recurrence of primary gastric cancer. The subjects were 122 patients with node-negative stage I or stage II primary gastric cancer. Prediction of recurrence using ONCs showed a sensitivity of 25.0% (2/8), specificity of 97.1% (100/103), and accuracy of 61.1% in stage I patients, while the respective values were 75.0% (3/4), 100.0% (7/7), and 87.5% in stage II patients. Prediction of recurrence in patients who fulfilled 2 or more of the high-risk criteria showed a sensitivity of 37.5% (3/8), specificity of 94.2% (97/103), and accuracy of 65.9% for stage I patients, while the respective values were 100.0% (4/4), 85.7% (6/7), and 92.9% for stage II patients. These results suggest that the prediction of recurrence based on the high-risk criteria shows a high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in patients of stage II gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis.

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