Clinical implications of CT-detected ascites in gastric cancer: association with peritoneal metastasis and systemic inflammatory response

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic significance of computed tomography (CT) detected ascites in gastric cancer (GC) with peritoneal metastasis (PM) and investigate its association with systemic inflammatory response.

Methods

This retrospective study included 111 GCs with ascites (PM: n = 51; No PM: n = 60). Systemic inflammatory indexes, tumor markers, and the CT-assessed characteristics of ascites were collected. The differences in parameters between the two groups were analyzed. Diagnostic performance was obtained by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The association between the volume of ascites and clinical characteristics was evaluated with correlation analysis.

Results

In this study, over half of GCs with ascites were not involved with PM. The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), five tumor markers, and the characteristics of ascites showed significant differences between the two groups (all p < 0.05). Among them, SII, NLR, PLR, and the volume of ascites achieved the areas under the curve of 0.700, 0.698, 0.704, and 0.903, respectively. Moreover, the volumes of ascites showed positive correlations with SII, NLR, and PLR in GCs with PM, and the volumes of ascites detected in the upper abdomen were more strongly correlated with CA125 level (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Many GCs with CT-detected ascites did not occur with synchronous PM. The presence of upper abdominal ascites had certain clinical significance for diagnosing PM in GCs. Systemic inflammatory indexes were elevated and positively correlated with the volume of ascites in GCs with PM, which might suggest the enhanced systemic inflammatory response.

Critical relevance statement

CT-detected ascites in the upper abdomen played an indicative role in identifying synchronous PM in GCs, and the systemic inflammatory response was enhanced in GCs with PM, which might be helpful for clinical evaluation.

Key Points

Many GCs with CT-detected ascites did not occur with synchronous PM.

CT-detected ascites in the upper abdomen help in identifying PM in GCs.

GCs with PM showed elevated systemic inflammatory indexes and enhanced systemic inflammatory response.

Graphical Abstract