No detrimental effect of perioperative blood transfusion on recurrence in 2905 stage II/III gastric cancer patients: A propensity-score matching analysis

The effects of perioperative blood transfusion on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients remain controversial. This study aimed to assess the association between perioperative blood transfusion and survival outcomes.The study included 2905 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for stage II/III gastric cancer between 2006 and 2015 and were followed until 2018. Propensity-score matching was used to adjust for differences in baseline clinicopathologic characteristics between patients with or without blood transfusion.Of 2905 patients, 543 (18.7%) received a perioperative blood transfusion. Patients with blood transfusion had significantly worse overall survival and recurrence-free survival than those without blood transfusion (p < 0.001 for both). Survival outcomes did not differ according to timing of transfusion (preoperative, intraoperative, or postoperative), transfused volume (1-2 units of packed red cells vs ≥ 3 units of packed red blood cells), and volume of intraoperative blood loss (≤300 mL vs > 300 mL). After propensity-score matching adjusting for risk factors associated with blood transfusion, 498 patients were included in each group. Long-term recurrence-free survival was not significantly different between patients with or without blood transfusion in the matched analysis (p = 0.808).In propensity-score matched analysis, blood transfusion was not associated with recurrence-free survival. Clinical circumstances, including demographic, pathologic, and surgical characteristics, rather than blood transfusions, appear to be the main prognostic factors for recurrence.