The last update for each patient was obtained in October 2018 until the date of death or the end of the follow-up period. The records of the patients, stored in a prospectively collected registry, were reviewed for information regarding the demographic data, tumor characteristics, type of treatment, treatment responses, and survival.
Of the 5,931 patients screened, 5,384 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Those who had a history of other malignancies, an unknown start date of first-line chemotherapy at other hospitals, or microscopic residual tumors after prior R1 resection were excluded. Patients who were ≥ 19 years of age with histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the stomach and who had received at least one cycle of chemotherapy were included in the study. A total of 5,931 patients who received first-line palliative chemotherapy for MRGC were identified. All patients who were treated for advanced gastric cancer between January 2000 and December 2015 at the Asan Medical Center (Seoul, Korea) were retrospectively screened.
