Abstract:Objective：To investigate the correlated factors of peritoneal dissemination and lympah node metastasis from gastric cancer, the prognosis of patients with peritoneal dissemination and N2 lymph node metastasis, and the impact of palliative surgery on the prognosis. Methods：Based on our database built from 1994, the clinicopathologic data and the outcomes of the follow-up were analyzed respectively. Results：The clinicopathologic factors correlated with peritoneal dissemination included T4, hepatic metastasis, the primary tumor involving the whole stomach, undifferentiated carcinoma, female sex and lymph node metastasis, while those correlated with lymph node metastasis included the primary tumor involving the whole stomach, Borrmann III, T2, T3 and T4, hepatic metastasis and peritoneal dissemination (P<0.05). The overall survival rate within 1 year postoperatively in the patients with P3 disease was lower than that in the patients with P1 and P2 disease(P<0.05), and the 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival rate within 1, 3 or 5 years postoperatively in the patients with N2 disease was lower than that in the patients with N1 disease(P<0.05). The 1- and 3-year overall surivial rate in the patients with peritoneal dissemination (P group) and N2 lymph node metastasis (PN2 group) was lower than that in the patients with N2 lymph node metastasis (N2 group) (P<0.05). The overall survival rate within 1 year in the patients with peritoneal dissemination undergoing palliative resection(PR)and the 1-and 3-year overall survival rate in the patients with N2 lymph node metastasis undergoing PR was significantly higher than that of the patients undergoing by-pass operation or feeding neostomy and the patients only undergoing exploratory laparotomy(P<0.05). Conclusions：The short- and long-term prognosis of PN2 group was poorer than that of N2 group; the prognosis of P3 group was poorer than that of P1 and P2 group, and the prognosis of N2 group poorer than that of N1 group; PR could improve the short-term survival rate of P group, and improve the short-and long-term survival rates of N2 group.