Published online Jun 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i6.105073
Revised: March 24, 2025
Accepted: May 13, 2025
Published online: June 27, 2025
Processing time: 136 Days and 21.9 Hours
Transabdominal ultrasound after the oral administration of an echoic cellulose-based gastric ultrasound contrast agent has recently been suggested to be effective in T staging of gastric cancer (GC).
To explore the clinical characteristics and transabdominal features associated with T3-T4 staging of GC.
In total, 113 patients who underwent transabdominal ultrasonography and had confirmed GC based on surgical pathology were included. Variables including clinical characteristics [age, body mass index, gender, clinical features, patho
Ninety-two patients were T3-T4 staging and 21 were T1-T2 staging. Univariate analysis revealed that the thickness of gastric lesions (1.6 ± 0.6 cm vs 1.0 ± 0.4 cm, P < 0.001), length of gastric lesions (5.7 ± 2.2 cm vs 2.9 ± 1.0 cm, P < 0.001), presence of angle sign (92.4% vs 19.0%, P < 0.001), elevated CEA (36.9% vs 0%, P < 0.001) and elevated CA19-9 (27.2% vs 14.3%, P = 0.034) were statistically significant between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the length of gastric lesions [odds ratio (OR) = 2.373, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.281-4.396, P = 0.006] and presence of angle sign (OR = 31.083, 95%CI: 4.449-217.164, P < 0.001) were independent factors associated with T3-T4 staging. A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted, and the area under the curve was 0.950 (95% CI: 0.906-0.994, P < 0.001).
Transabdominal ultrasound features, including an angle sign and lesion length, help identify T3-T4 staging.
Core Tip: The accuracy of gastric cancer (GC) staging is of great significance for the choice of surgical methods and patients’ prognosis. The length of gastric lesions and presence of angle sign were independent factors associated with T3-T4 staging. The combined use can improve diagnostic accuracy. Abdominal ultrasound provides a non-invasive, cost-effective, and reproducible imaging method for T staging of GC, suggesting its potential applicability in clinical settings.