This study evaluated the clinical impact of anemia during the perioperative period on both short- and long-term oncological outcomes in resectable gastric cancer (GC) patients who received curative treatment.

We conducted a retrospective review of medical records and collected data from consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative resection at Yokohama City University between 2015 and 2022.

A total of 330 patients were evaluated in this study. In the present study, we set the cutoff value of preoperative hemoglobin at 11.0 g/dl. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 88.6%, 59.8%, and 47.0%, respectively, in patients with hemoglobin levels <11 g/dl, and 96.8%, 86.0%, and 80.0% in those with hemoglobin levels ≥11 g/dl. Based on univariate and multivariate analyses, the preoperative hemoglobin status was identified as an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival (hazard ratio=1.772, 95% confidence interval=1.109-2.831, p=0.017) and recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio=1.782; 95% confidence interval=1.166-2.723, p=0.008). In addition, perioperative anemia was also found to affect the clinical course of postoperative surgical complications and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

Perioperative anemia was identified as an independent prognostic factor in GC patients who received curative treatment. To improve the survival of patients with GC, it is necessary to provide care and management for perioperative anemia before curative treatment.