Risk factors for blood transfusion and its prognostic implications in curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Lucas Eiki Kawakami; Pedro Barzan Bonomi; Marina Alessandra Pereira; Fabrício Oliveira Carvalho; Ulysses Ribeiro Jr; Bruno Zilberstein; Luciana Ribeiro Sampaio; Luiz Augusto Carneiro-D'Albuquerque; Marcus Fernando Kodama Pertille Ramos

doi:10.4240/wjgs.v15.i4.643

Risk factors for blood transfusion and its prognostic implications in curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer

World J Gastrointest Surg. 2023 Apr 27;15(4):643-654. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i4.643.

Authors

Lucas Eiki Kawakami¹, Pedro Barzan Bonomi¹, Marina Alessandra Pereira¹, Fabrício Oliveira Carvalho², Ulysses Ribeiro Jr¹, Bruno Zilberstein¹, Luciana Ribeiro Sampaio², Luiz Augusto Carneiro-D'Albuquerque¹, Marcus Fernando Kodama Pertille Ramos³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto do Cancer, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01249000, Brazil.
² Blood Transfusion Unit, Instituto do Cancer, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01249000, Brazil.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto do Cancer, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01249000, Brazil. marcus.kodama@hc.fm.usp.br.

Abstract

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is still a prevalent neoplasm around the world and its main treatment modality is surgical resection. The need for perioperative blood transfusions is frequent, and there is a long-lasting debate regarding its impact on survival.

Aim: To evaluate the factors related to the risk of receiving red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and its influence on surgical and survival outcomes of patients with GC.

Methods: Patients who underwent curative resection for primary gastric adenocarcinoma at our Institute between 2009 and 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. Clinicopathological and surgical characteristics data were collected. The patients were divided into transfusion and non-transfusion groups for analysis.

Results: A total of 718 patients were included, and 189 (26.3%) patients received perioperative RBC transfusion (23 intraoperatively, 133 postoperatively, and 33 in both periods). Patients in the RBC transfusions group were older (P < 0.001), and had more comorbidities (P = 0.014), American Society of Anesthesiologists classification III/IV (P < 0.001), and lower preoperative hemoglobin (P < 0.001) and albumin levels (P < 0.001). Larger tumors (P < 0.001) and advanced tumor node metastasis stage (P < 0.001) were also associated with the RBC transfusion group. The rates of postoperative complications (POC) and 30-d and 90-d mortality were significantly higher in the RBC transfusion group than in the non-transfusion group. Lower hemoglobin and albumin levels, total gastrectomy, open surgery, and the occurrence of POC were factors associated with the RBC transfusion. Survival analysis demonstrated that the RBC transfusions group had worse disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with patients who did not receive transfusion (P < 0.001 for both). In multivariate analysis, RBC transfusion, major POC, pT3/T4 category, pN+, D1 lymphadenectomy, and total gastrectomy were independent risk factors related to worse DFS and OS.

Conclusion: Perioperative RBC transfusion is associated with worse clinical conditions and more advanced tumors. Further, it is an independent factor related to worse survival in the curative intent gastrectomy setting.

Keywords: Blood transfusion; Postoperative complications; Prognosis; Red blood cells; Stomach neoplasms; Survival.