Systematic treatment in gastric cancer patients with overt bleeding: A propensity score matching analysis

BACKGROUND Hemorrhage, which is not a rare complication in patients with gastric cancer (GC)/gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC), can lead to a poor prognosis. However, no study has examined the effectiveness and safety of chemotherapy as an initial therapy for GC/GEJC patients with overt bleeding (OB). AIM To investigate the impact of OB on the survival and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of GC/GEJC patients. METHODS Patients with advanced or metastatic GC/GEJC who received systematic treatment at Peking University Third Hospital were enrolled in this study. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed. RESULTS After 1:2 PSM analysis, 93 patients were assessed, including 32 patients with OB before treatment (OBBT) and 61 patients without OBBT. The disease control rate was 90.6% in the group with OBBT and 88.5% in the group without OBBT, and this difference was not statistically significant. There was no difference in the incidence of TRAEs between the group with OBBT and the group without OBBT. The median overall survival (mOS) was 15.2 months for patients with OBBT and 23.7 months for those without OBBT [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.101, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.672-1.804, log rank P = 0.701]. The mOS was worse for patients with OB after treatment (OBAT) than for those without OBAT (11.4 months vs 23.7 months, HR = 1.787, 95%CI: 1.006-3.175, log rank P = 0.044). CONCLUSION The mOS for GC/GEJC patients with OBBT was similar to that for those without OBBT, but the mOS for patients with OBAT was worse than that for those without OBAT.