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Background: During sentinel node navigation surgery in patients with gastric cancer, intraoperative pathologic examination of sentinel nodes is crucial in determining the extent of surgery. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of intraoperative pathologic protocols using data from a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from the SEntinel Node ORIented Tailored Approach trials from 2013 to 2016. All sentinel lymph nodes were evaluated during surgery with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining using a representative section at the largest plane for lymph nodes. For permanent histologic evaluation, sentinel basin nodes were stained with HE and cytokeratin immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) sections and examined with HE for three deeper-step sections at 200-μm intervals. The failure rate of identification by frozen section and the metastasis rate in non-sentinel basins were investigated., Results: Of the 237 patients who underwent sentinel node basin dissection, 30 had lymph node metastases on permanent pathology. Thirteen patients had macrometastasis confirmed in frozen sections as well as FFPE sections (failure rate: 0%). Patients with negative sentinel nodes in frozen sections but micrometastasis in FFPE sections had no lymph node recurrence during the follow-up period (0%, 0/6). However, in cases with tumor-positive nodes in frozen sections, metastases in non-sentinel basins were detected in the paraffin blocks (8.3%, 2/24)., Conclusions: The single-section HE staining method is sufficient for detecting macrometastasis via intraoperative pathological examination. If a negative frozen-section result is confirmed, sentinel basin dissection can be performed safely. Otherwise, standard surgery is required., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to The International Gastric Cancer Association and The Japanese Gastric Cancer Association.)

Purpose: Poorly cohesive cells-gastric cancer (PCC-GC) represents distinct features within the GC spectrum. The present study investigated the clinicopathologic characteristics and chemo-sensitivity for a relatively large cohort of PCC-GC patients., Materials and Methods: A total of 268 patients diagnosed with stage II or III PCC-GC were included. GC cell lines were also analyzed for drug sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin in vitro., Results: One hundred fifteen (42.9%) patients were stage II and 153 (57.1%) were stage III. Two hundred twenty-three (83.2%) patients received adjuvant therapy. Among these patients, 139 (62.3%) received CAPOX and 84 (37.7%) received S-1. With a median follow-up of 38.9 (1.6-137.8) months, the estimated 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 52.3% and 61.0%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, survival was significantly better in the adjuvant chemotherapy group than in the surgery only group. In the subgroup analysis, there was no significant difference in DFS or OS between the types of adjuvant chemotherapy for either disease stage. In vitro cell line analysis, different responses to 5-FU and oxaliplatin were observed in SRC and non-SRC, where the treatment in KATOIII cell lines with oxaliplatin had less effect at a higher concentration compared to non-SRC cell lines., Conclusion: The current study found that adjuvant chemotherapy was not significantly associated with survival benefit for patients with resected stage II and III PCC-GC. Plus, S-1 showed numerically longer DFS and OS compared to CAPOX in PCC-GC patients, although no significant in the multivariate analysis., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy (LPG) is increasingly preferred for operative management of early gastric cancer, although there is no consensus on a standard reconstruction method after resection. Two popular methods used after LPG are double tract reconstruction (DTR) and double flap technique (DFT). This study assessed comprehensive clinical outcomes including quality of life (QoL) and body composition change 1 year after DFT and DTR., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed prospectively collected data from 51 to 18 patients who underwent DTR and DFT, respectively, between September 2014 and December 2018. Short-term surgical outcomes, presence of reflux esophagitis, nutritional supplementation, medications, nutritional status (laboratory results and body composition analysis), and QoL measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively were compared between both groups., Results: Both groups did not differ significantly in clinicopathological characteristics. The DFT as compared to the DTR group required significantly longer time for anastomosis (79.4 vs. 60.9 min, p < 0.001) and use of fewer staplers (3.39 vs. 6.86, p < 0.001). While the presence of endoscopic reflux esophagitis and iron/vitamin B 12 replacement were comparable, the DTR group showed a higher tendency of taking anti-reflux medications for reflux symptoms (DTR: 13.7% vs. DFT: 0.0%, p = 0.177). The DTR group lost significantly more weight (p = 0.038) and body fat (p = 0.009). QoL analysis showed significant deterioration in diarrhea, eating restriction, and taste problems in both groups (DTR group: p = 0.008, p < 0.001, p = 0.010, respectively, and DFT group: p = 0.017, p = 0.024, p = 0.034, respectively). However, only the DTR group showed significant deterioration in physical function (p = 0.009), role function (p = 0.033), nausea/vomiting (p = 0.041), appetite loss (p = 0.019), dysphagia (p = 0.001), pain (p = 0.025), and body image (p = 0.004)., Conclusions: Despite requiring a longer anastomosis time, performing DFT after LPG was shown to be an ideal reconstruction method in terms of better 1-year QoL and nutritional outcome. Further larger studies over longer postoperative periods are necessary to confirm our findings., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Rationale: With the increase of gastric cancer surveillance and endoscopic resection techniques, the number of endoscopic resections being performed for the treatment of early gastric cancer in East Asian countries has been increasing. Previously, endoscopic resection has been limited to only differentiated type intramucosal cancers which had a diameter ≤2.0 cm, provided there was no evidence of ulceration and lymphovascular invasion, known as absolute indications. And recently, indications for endoscopic resection have been expanded to include even more cases., Patient Concerns: A 57-year-old female, who had undergone curative endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer under the absolute indications for endoscopic resection 5 years prior, was referred to the department of general surgery with metastatic perigastric lymph nodes without intragastric lesions., Diagnosis: Computed tomography scan revealed the presence of a few enlarged lymph nodes at the distal part of the lesser curvature of the stomach. And positron emission tomography scan further revealed the presence of two hypermetabolic lymph nodes near the common hepatic artery, suggestive of metastatic lymph nodes., Interventions: Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy with D2 lymph node dissection were performed., Outcomes: Final pathology report revealed the absence of any residual carcinoma in the stomach. However lymphovascular invasion of omental fat, and 3 out of 29 perigastric lymph nodes harvested had metastatic adenocarcinoma., Lessons: The case demonstrates that regional lymph node recurrence without intragastric lesions after curative resection of early gastric cancer meeting the absolute indications for endoscopic resection is possible even 5 years after resection of the primary lesion., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The present study aimed to investigate changes in glucose metabolism and incretin hormone response following longer intestinal bypass reconstruction after distal gastrectomy (DG) in low BMI patients with gastric cancer and type 2 diabetes. A total of 20 patients were prospectively recruited and underwent either conventional Billroth I (BI), Billroth II with long-biliopancreatic limb (BII), or Roux-en-Y anastomosis with long-Roux limb (RY) after DG. A 75g-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was given preoperatively; and at 5 days, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Serum glucose, insulin, glucagon, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) were serially measured. At 6 months after surgery, complete diabetes remission was achieved in 57.1% of the BII group but in no patients in the other two groups (p = 0.018). BII group showed a significant reduction in glucose concentration during OGTT at 6 months in contrast to the other 2 groups. In the BII group, a significant increase in GLP-1 secretion was observed after surgery but not maintained at 6 months, while postoperative hyperglucagonemia was alleviated along with a reduction in GIP. BII gastrojejunostomy with long biliopancreatic limb achieved better diabetes control with favorable incretin response after DG compared to BI or RY reconstruction., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Patients who have undergone gastrectomy have unique symptoms that are not appropriately assessed using currently available tools. This study developed and validated a symptom-focused quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for patients who have received gastrectomy for gastric cancer., Materials and Methods: Based on a literature review, patient interviews, and expert consultation by the KOrean QUality of life in Stomach cancer patients Study group (KOQUSS), the initial item pool was developed. Two large-scale developmental studies were then sequentially conducted for exploratory factor analyses for content validity and item reduction. The final item pool was validated in a separate cohort of patients and assessed for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and clinical validity., Results: The initial questionnaire consisted of 46-items in 12 domains. Data from 465 patients at 11 institutions, followed by 499 patients at 13 institutions, were used to conduct item reduction and exploratory factor analyses. The final questionnaire (KOQUSS-40) comprised 40 items within 11 domains. Validation of KOQUSS-40 was conducted on 413 patients from 12 hospitals. KOQUSS-40 was found to have good model fit. The mean summary score of the KOQUSS-40 was correlated with the EORTC QLQ-C30 and STO22 (correlation coefficients, 0.821 and 0.778, respectively). The KOQUSS-40 score was also correlated with clinical factors, and had acceptable internal consistency (> 0.7). Test-retest reliability was greater than 0.8., Conclusion: The KOQUSS-40 can be used to assess QoL of gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy and allows for a robust comparison of surgical techniques in clinical trials.

Abstract: This study aims to compare the nutritional outcomes and quality of life between patients who underwent esophagogastrostomy (EG) and those who underwent the double-tract reconstruction (DTR) after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer.We retrospectively reviewed the prospectively established database of 45 patients who underwent EG with anti-reflux procedure and 58 patients who underwent the DTR after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy between December 2013 and June 2017. Then, we compared the baseline characteristics, clinical outcomes, postoperative nutritional parameters, and quality of life (QOL) using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ STO-22 between the EG and DTR groups.In the postoperative 1-year endoscopic findings, the incidence of esophageal reflux was higher in the EG group (17.8% vs 3.4%, P = .041) and there was no significant difference in anastomotic stricture. Nutritional status was evaluated via body mass index, serum albumin, protein, hemoglobin, and ferritin; we found no significant differences. The incidences of iron deficiency anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency also showed no significant difference between the 2 groups. With regards to the quality of life, the difference values between preoperative and postoperative 1-year were evaluated; there was no significant difference between the EG with anti-reflux procedure and DTR groups.EG had higher incidence of esophageal reflux and similar nutritional outcomes and QOL compared with the double-tract reconstruction after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy. Additional large-scale research is needed to evaluate the long-term functional outcomes of EG and the double-tract reconstruction., Competing Interests: All authors (Drs. Bang Wool Eom, Ji Yeon Park, Ki Bum Park, Hong Man Yoon, Oh Kyoung Kwon, Keun Won Ryu, and Young-Woo Kim) have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclosure., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background and Objectives : The prognosis of metastatic or unresectable gastric cancer is dismal, and the benefits of the palliative resection of primary tumors with noncurative intent remain controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of palliative gastrectomy (PG) on overall survival in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods : One hundred forty-eight gastric cancer patients who underwent PG or a nonresection (NR) procedure between January 2011 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed to select and analyze clinicopathological factors that affected prognosis. Results : Fifty-five patients underwent primary tumor resection with palliative intent, and 93 underwent NR procedures owing to the presence of metastatic or unresectable disease. The PG group was younger and more female dominant. In the PG group, R1 and R2 resection were performed in two patients (3.6%) and 53 patients (96.4%), respectively. The PG group had a significantly longer median overall survival than the NR group (28.4 vs. 7.7 months, p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that the overall survival was significantly better after palliative resection (hazard ratio (HR), 0.169; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.088-0.324; p < 0.001) in patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA) scores ≤1 (HR, 0.506; 95% CI, 0.291-0.878; p = 0.015) and those who received postoperative chemotherapy (HR, 0.487; 95% CI, 0.296-0.799; p = 0.004). Among the patients undergoing palliative resection, the presence of <15 positive lymph nodes was the only significant predictor of better overall survival (HR, 0.329; 95% CI, 0.121-0.895; p = 0.030). Conclusions : PG might lead to the prolonged survival of certain patients with incurable gastric cancer, particularly those with less-extensive lymph-node metastasis.

Systemic inflammatory biomarkers have begun to be used in clinical practice to predict prognosis and survival of cancer patients, but the approach remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the predictive value of the c-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and Glasgow prognostic score (GPS)/modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) in the clinical outcome of gastric cancer (GC) patients. We searched literature databases to identify relevant studies. All articles identified in the search were independently reviewed based on predetermined selection criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of overall survival of the included studies. A total of 41 eligible cohort studies, involving a total of 18,348 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, were considered for meta-analysis. Increases in CRP (HR = 1.654, 95% CI: 1.272-2.151), NLR (HR = 1.605, 95% CI: 1.449-1.779), and GPS/mGPS (HR = 1.648, 95% CI: 1.351-2.011) were significantly associated with poorer survival in patients with GC. Substantial heterogeneities were noted in all three markers (I2 = 86.479%, 50.799%, 69.774%, in CRP, NLR, and GPS/mGPS, respectively). Subgroup analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between each marker and poor survival, regardless of country, study quality, cancer stage, study design, or the inclusion of patients undergoing chemotherapy. This meta-analysis demonstrates that CRP, NLR, and GPS/mGPS are associated with poor survival in patients with GC. Further prospective studies using standardized measurements are warranted to conclude the prognostic value of various inflammatory markers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the surgical outcomes of laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy (LPG) reconstructed by the double-tract method in comparison to those of laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG)., Methods: A retrospective review of the prospectively established database identified early gastric cancer patients who underwent LPG (n = 34) or LTG (n = 46) between January 2011 and December 2015. Baseline characteristics and surgical outcomes including postoperative complications, changes in body composition, nutritional status, and quality of life (QOL) after surgery were compared between the LPG and LTG patients., Results: Operating time was significantly longer in the LTG group (240.7 ± 43.9 vs. 211.7 ± 32.8 min, p = 0.007). The incidence of grade II or more complications and the hospital stay were comparable between the groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of body composition using a bioelectrical impedance method in 1 year postoperatively. Nutritional status assessed by serum hemoglobin, iron, vitamin B12, albumin, total protein, and total cholesterol levels and postoperative changes in quality of life up to 2 years after surgery were also similar between the groups. Vitamin B12 supplementation was required in 75.4% of the patients in the LTG group and 46.5% in the LPG group within 2 years after surgery (p = 0.005)., Conclusion: LPG with double-tract reconstruction appears superior in preventing vitamin B12 deficiency compared to LTG, particularly after 1 year after the surgery, although it offered little benefit in terms of postoperative body composition changes and QOL., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We evaluated the impact of postoperative body mass index (BMI) shifts on the quality of life (QoL) following total gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer., Materials and Methods: QoL data collected from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 and QLQ-STO22 questionnaires were obtained from 417 patients preoperatively and 1 year after surgery. Patients were divided into two groups based on changes in BMI: group 1 comprised patientswhose BMIrange category dropped, and group 2 included patients who maintained or rose to a higher category compared to their preoperative BMI category., Results: There were 276 patients in group 1 and 141 in group 2. QoLs with respect to the global health status and functional scales were not significantly different between the groups 1 year after surgery. However, there were significantly greater decreases in QoL in group 1 due to gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting (p=0.008), appetite loss (p=0.001), and constipation (p=0.038). Of the QLQ-STO22 parameters, dysphagia (p=0.013), pain (p=0.012), reflux symptoms (p=0.017), eating restrictions (p=0.007), taste (p=0.009), and body image (p=0.009) were associated with significantly worse QoL in group 1 than in group 2 1 year after surgery., Conclusion: Patients have significantly different QoLs depending on the BMI shift after total gastrectomy. Efforts to reduce the gap in QoL should include intensive nutritional support and restoration of dietary behaviors. Appropriate clinical and institutional approaches, plus active medical interventions, are required for maintaining patients' BMIs after surgery.

Background/aim: This study investigated the clinical prognostic relevance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic advanced gastric cancer (AGC) treated with combination chemotherapy including trastuzumab., Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 73 patients diagnosed with metastatic AGC who were treated with trastuzumab combination chemotherapy. NLR was calculated as the neutrophil count divided by the lymphocyte count. A cut-off value of 3 was selected, which classified patients into two categories, low (≤3.0) or high (>3.0)., Results: In the univariate analysis, the high-NLR patients showed a significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than the low-NLR patients (PFS, p=0.012, OS, p=0.047). In the multivariate analysis, the high NLR was independently associated with a shorter PFS (p=0.015) and OS (p=0.040)., Conclusion: This study found that a high NLR was associated with a shorter PFS and OS in patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer treated with trastuzumab., (Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Objective: This randomized, phase II, multicenter clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) with D2 lymph node dissection compared with open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC)., Summary of Background Data: D2 lymph node dissection has been accepted as standard treatment for AGC. Although LADG is widely performed in early gastric cancer (EGC), the feasibility of LADG in AGC has not been proven yet., Methods: Patients with cT2-T4a and cN0-2 (AJCC 7 staging system) distal gastric cancer were randomly but not blindingly assigned to LADG or ODG groups using fixed block sizes with a 1:1 allocation ratio. The primary endpoint was the noncompliance rate of the lymph node dissection, which was used to evaluate feasibility. Secondary endpoints included 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), 5-year overall survival, complications, and surgical stress response., Results: Between June 2010 and October 2011, 204 patients enrolled and underwent either LADG (n = 105) or ODG (n = 99). Of these, 196 patients (100 in LADG and 96 in ODG) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. There were no significant differences in the overall noncompliance rate of lymph node dissection between LADG and ODG groups (47.0% and 43.2%, respectively; P = 0.648). In the subgroup analysis, the noncompliance rate in the LADG group was significantly higher than the ODG group for clinical stage III disease (52.0% vs 25.0%, P = 0.043). No difference was found in the 3-year DFS rate between the groups (LADG, 80.1%; ODG, 81.9%; P = 0.448). Differences in postoperative complication rates and surgical stress response were found to be insignificant between the 2 arms., Conclusions: LADG was feasible for AGC treatment based on the noncompliance rate of D2 lymph node dissection. Subgroups analysis data suggest that further studies are needed for stage III gastric cancer.

Over the last decade, as the number of patients with early gastric cancer increased and the subsequent survival rate improved, there has been a consistent effort to verify the applicability of the sentinel node concept in gastric cancer in a bid to improve postoperative quality of life in these patients. During sentinel node navigation surgery in gastric cancer patients, intraoperative pathologic examination of the retrieved sentinel nodes plays a critical role in determining the extent of surgery, but the optimal method is still under debate. Currently, a multicenter, phase III clinical trial is underway to compare laparoscopic sentinel basin dissection with stomach preserving surgery and standard laparoscopic gastrectomy in terms of oncologic outcomes in patients with clinical stage T1N0 gastric cancer. Herein, the currently available intraoperative pathologic techniques are reviewed and their clinical significance and applicability are appraised based on the published literature. The proper pathologic examination of the sentinel lymph nodes in an upcoming clinical trial (SENORITA trial) is also proposed here based on this review., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Along with the marked increase in early gastric cancer (EGC) in the Eastern countries, there has been an effort to adopt the sentinel node concept in EGC to preserve gastric function and reduce the occurrence of postoperative complications. Based on promising results from a previous quality control study, this prospective multicenter randomized controlled phase III clinical trial aims to elucidate the oncologic safety of laparoscopic stomach-preserving surgery with sentinel basin dissection (SBD) compared to a standard laparoscopic gastrectomy., Methods/design: This trial is an investigator-initiated, open-label, multicenter randomized controlled phase III trial with a non-inferiority design. Patients diagnosed with a single lesion of clinical stage T1N0M0 gastric adenocarcinoma, with a diameter of 3 cm or less are eligible for the present study. A total of 580 patients (290 per group) will be randomized to either laparoscopic stomach-preserving surgery with SBD or standard surgery. The primary end-point is 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) and the secondary endpoints include postoperative morbidity and mortality, quality of life, 5-year DFS, and overall survival. Qualified investigators who completed the prior quality control study are exclusively allowed to participate in this phase III clinical trial., Discussion: The proposed trial is expected to verify whether laparoscopic stomach-preserving surgery with SBD achieves similar oncologic outcomes and improved quality of life compared to a standard gastrectomy in EGC patients., Trial Registration: This study was registered at the NIH ClinicalTrial.gov database ( NCT01804998 ) on March 4th, 2013.

The clinical application of sentinel node biopsies in early gastric cancer is still controversial even though it appears promising. This study was conducted as a prerequisite quality control for surgical standardization of laparoscopic sentinel basin dissection (SBD) prior to the initiation of a phase III trial.Laparoscopic SBD was performed in patients with preoperative stage T1-2N0 and tumor size <4 cm in diameter. Intraoperative endoscopic submucosal injection of a standardized dual tracer was administered. All retrieved sentinel basin nodes (SBN) were investigated with intraoperative frozen hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. A strict checklist consisting of 7 essential steps was followed during laparoscopic SBD as the quality control study for a phase III trial. Completion of all essential steps in the checklist for 10 cases was used to define a qualified institution.Seven institutions participated and 112 patients were enrolled in this study. However, 4 patients were excluded owing to screening failure. The mean number of cases required for institutional qualification was 15 cases (range, 13-20 cases). Sentinel basins (SB) were detected and dissected in 100 of the 108 patients (92.6%); the median number of SB and SBN was 2 and 7, respectively. Lymph node metastases were detected in 10 patients by postoperative permanent H&E staining and they were detected by SBD in all 10 patients. Frozen results of SBN were compatible with permanent staining reports.Laparoscopic SBD is feasible and demonstrated improved sensitivity in detecting metastatic lymph nodes compared to the previous study. A future phase III randomized trial comparing laparoscopic SBD with organ-preserving gastrectomy and laparoscopic standard gastrectomy seems promising for qualified institutions.

Background: The adoption of robotic systems for gastric cancer surgery has been proven feasible and safe; however, a benefit over the laparoscopic approach has not yet been well-documented. We aimed to investigate the surgical outcomes of robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer, according to the extent of surgery and patients' obesity status., Methods: Between January 2009 and July 2011, 770 patients were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. All had stage IA/IB gastric cancer preoperatively and underwent either laparoscopic (n = 622) or robotic (n = 148) gastrectomy. Patients were classified into obese and non-obese groups on the basis of visceral fat area (VFA). The extent of surgery was defined by whether patients underwent distal or total gastrectomy., Results: The surgical outcomes following distal gastrectomy were similar between the robotic and laparoscopic groups regardless of the obesity status. After total gastrectomy, the number of total and N2-area lymph nodes were significantly higher in the robotic group than in the laparoscopic group in non-obese patients with VFA < 100 cm(2) (total, 38.8 vs. 46.5; p = 0.018; N2 area, 9.0 vs. 12.4; p = 0.041), but no significant differences were observed in obese population. Robotic group developed less severe complications after total gastrectomy compared to laparoscopic group in non-obese patients (p = 0.036)., Conclusion: Robotic assistance did not improve surgical outcomes over the laparoscopic approach in obese patients undergoing distal gastrectomy. However, non-obese patients with low VFA may benefit from robotic assistance during total gastrectomy in terms of radical D2 lymphadenectomy with fewer serious complications.

Aim: To evaluate the biopathologic features and clinical significance of nodal micrometastasis (MI) in early gastric cancer (EGC)., Methods: Among 1022 EGC patients who underwent gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy of D1 + β or more from March 2001 to December 2005 at the Korean National Cancer Center, available nodal metastasis was found in 90 pT1N1 patients. Nodal metastasis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with cytokeratin and patients were classified into MI and macrometastasis (MA) groups based on the main tumor burden according to the 6(th) International Union Against Cancer/American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system; the main tumor burden with a diameter of greater than 0.2 mm but no greater than 2 mm as MI, and greater than 2 mm as MA of the representative metastatic node. Proliferative and apoptotic activities of the primary tumor and the nodal metastasis were measured by IHC with Ki-67 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling, respectively. Biopathologic and clinical features of the patients were analyzed and compared between MI and MA groups. Patients with recurrence were compared with those without recurrence to identify risk factors for recurrence., Results: Thirty-seven patients showed MI and the other 53 patients revealed MA in the lymph node; the incidence of patients with MI and MA was 41.1% and 58.9%. The main tumor burden was 0.9 and 4.6 mm in the representative metastatic node, respectively. Japanese N2 stations were more frequently involved in MA group (20.9%) than in MI group (10.3%) but the difference was not statistically different (P = 0.338). Proliferative and apoptotic activities of MI were decreased than those of MA (26.7% vs 40.5%, P = 0.004 and 1.0% vs 3.0%, P < 0.001, respectively). However, nodal MI in the current study showed a relatively high proliferative activity and an equivalent apoptotic activity compared to other cancers in the previously published studies. Recurrence was observed in 6 patients during the mean follow up period of 87.6 ± 26.2 mo. The recurrence was significantly associated with the presence of MA (P = 0.041) and lymphovascular invasion of the primary tumor (P = 0.032)., Conclusion: Lymphadenectomy of D1 + β or more might be necessary in patients with MI in sentinel node to prevent recurrence by clearing MI involving Japanese N2 station.

Background: Bleeding after gastrectomy is a less frequent, but fatal complication. Because the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations differ considerably across cases, the exact outcome of postoperative bleeding is unclear. This study aimed to improve management practices for postgastrectomy bleeding by the analysis of risk factors and clinical patterns., Methods: From January 2001 to December 2010, 5,739 patients underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer at the National Cancer Center, Korea. Clinical data from patients with postoperative bleeding were obtained from a prospectively established database, and risk factors for bleeding were analyzed using multivariate binary logistic regression., Results: Incidence of the postoperative bleeding was 0.8% (n = 48) and the subsequent mortality rate was 10% (5/48). Majority of anastomotic bleeding occurred early within 1 day of the operation (5/7; 71%). It was successfully managed with conservative treatment in 3 patients, endoscopic intervention in 2, and relaparotomy in 2. Arterial bleeding occurred in 24 patients, with the main site being the splenic artery (11/24; 46%), and mostly manifested in the delayed period (median, 12 days). Fifteen of them underwent radiologic intervention, and 4 of these patients were referred for operation eventually. The other 9 patients underwent relaparotomy as first-line treatment. Independent risk factors for the bleeding were male (hazard ratio [HR] 2.253; 95% CI, 1.079-4.704), comorbidity (HR, 2.709; 95% CI, 1.440-5.095), previous abdominal operation (HR, 2.785; 95% CI, 1.322-5.867), and palliative surgery (HR, 4.142; 95% CI, 1.443-11.889)., Conclusion: Postgastrectomy bleeding can be managed properly considering its origin, severity, onset, and the risk factors., (Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the chronological change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) and to compare the HRQOL of the patients undergoing RADG with that of the general population., Methods: Patients undergoing RADG for EGC between March 2010 and May 2011 were enrolled. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and the gastric cancer-specific module (QLQ-STO22) were completed before the operation and at 1 week as well as 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postsurgery. HRQOL data of the enrolled patients were compared to reference values obtained from the general population., Results: A total of 30 patients were enrolled, and the overall compliance for questionnaire response was 94.4 %. The worst scores for most of the domains were observed at 1 week postsurgery and usually returned to baseline levels within 3 months, except for fatigue, dysphagia, pain, and eating restriction. Diarrhea was the only symptom that did not recovered after 1 year. Before surgery, patients reported significantly worse social function and financial difficulties compared to the general population, which persisted for 1 year postsurgery., Conclusions: The immediate deterioration of HRQOL after RADG was restored to baseline levels within 3 months postsurgery in the majority of the patients. Robotic assistance might aid in the rapid recovery of global health status after surgery in EGC patients. Prolonged impairment in social function compared with the general population suggests that psychological support is necessary even for EGC patients.

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal method of primary tumor control, determined by preoperative clinical factors, during sentinel node (SN) navigation surgery for early gastric cancer (EGC). In this study, we investigated the accuracy of clinical diagnosis based on preoperative examination in patients with EGC and proposed surgical options for primary tumor control during SN navigation surgery., Methods: We analyzed 815 patients with clinical stage IA gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy at the National Cancer Center in Korea between March 2001 and February 2011. The clinical stage was determined by endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography, and abdominal computed tomography., Results: The preoperative assessment of tumor depth and tumor size was accurate in 57.5 and 70.8 % of patients, respectively. Tumor depth and size were underestimated in 8 and 25.3 % of patients. The overall accuracy of histologic diagnosis by endoscopic biopsy was 87.2 %. Of those tumors diagnosed preoperatively as differentiated, 20.5 % revealed mixed histology of undifferentiated type., Conclusions: The recommendation for SN biopsy may be limited to tumors sized 3 cm or smaller to avoid positive lateral margins and to minimize the risk of skip metastases. Endoscopic resection may safely be applied to small mucosal cancers, but other surgical options should be employed for undifferentiated large mucosal lesions, given their tendency for diffuse invasion. Full-thickness resection is preferable for submucosal cancers, to secure clear vertical margins.

Background: Extended lymph node dissection in gastric cancer (D3) was proven to have no survival benefit compared with a D2 dissection, but whether adding the superior mesenteric nodes (No. 14v) to the dissection provides survival benefit for gastric cancer patients remains controversial., Methods: From April 2001 to June 2007, 1,661 patients underwent curative resection for middle or lower third gastric cancer. Patients were grouped according to No. 14v lymphadenectomy (14vD+/14vD-). Clinicopathologic characteristics and treatment-related factors were compared between the groups. Overall survival according to the clinical stage (Union for International Cancer Control tumor-node-metastasis staging 6th edition) was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model., Results: The incidence of No. 14v lymph node metastasis was 5.0%. There was no difference in morbidity or mortality between the 14vD+ and the 14vD- groups. The proportion of locoregional recurrence was greater in 14vD- group (P = .018). In clinical stages I and II, 14v lymph node dissection did not affect overall survival; in contrast, 14v lymph node dissection was an independent prognostic factor in patients with clinical stage III/IV gastric cancer (hazard ratio, 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.88; P = .01)., Conclusion: Extended D2 gastrectomy including No. 14v lymph node dissection seems to be associated with improved overall survival of patients with clinical stage III/IV gastric cancer in the middle or lower third of the stomach., (Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The prognosis of patients with positive surgical resection margins is dismal in gastric cancer. However, the influence of positive margin itself on prognosis is still uncertain, especially in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prognostic impact of microscopic tumor involved resection margins in stage III-IV AGC after gastric resection in comparison with other well-known factors., Methods: Among 1,536 consecutive gastric cancer patients who received intentional curative resection for stage III-IV AGC between April 2001 and December 2011 at the National Cancer Center, 35 patients (2.28 %) had positive resection margins on their final histology. A comparison of clinicopathologic characteristics, recurrence pattern, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) was made between positive margin (PM) patients and negative margin (NM) patients., Results: Among the 35 PM patients, 15 (42.9 %) had proximal involved margins, 21 (60.0 %) had distal involved margins, and one (2.9 %) had both involved margins. Twenty-eight PM patients (80.0 %) were stage III, and 7 (20.0 %) were stage IV. Recurrence was significantly higher in PM than NM (63.6 % vs. 39.7 %, respectively; p = 0.005). The OS and DFS rates were significantly lower in the PM group than in the NM group (14.9 vs. 36.3 months, p < 0.001 and 11.6 vs. 27.1 months, p = 0.005, respectively). The presence of PM was an independent risk factor for both OS and DFS., Conclusions: The presence of PM is an independent risk factor for OS and DFS. Considering the prognostic impact of PM, a sufficient resection margin should be ensured when determining the resection line in gastrectomy with curative intent. The reoperation to secure clear resection margins should be considered as a treatment of choice in the case of PM.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) compared to open distal gastrectomy (ODG) in the treatment of early gastric cancer with respect to survival, surgical outcomes, complications, and quality of life (QOL)., Methods: One hundred sixty-four patients with cT1N0M0 and cT1N1M0 distal gastric cancer were randomly assigned to either the LADG group or the ODG group. The primary end point was the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate. Complications were classified using the accordion severity classification of postoperative complications scheme. QOL was measured using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-STO22 preoperatively and postoperatively during regular follow-up visits. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00546468)., Results: The median (range) follow-up period was 74.3 (24.8-90.8) months. The LADG and ODG groups showed similar survival [5-year DFS rate: 98.8 % vs. 97.6 %, respectively (P = 0.514), 5-year overall survival (OS) rate: 97.6 vs. 96.3 %, respectively (P = 0.721)] or overall complication rate (29.3 vs. 42.7 %, respectively; P = 0.073). Mild complications were significantly less frequent in the LADG group than in the ODG group (23.2 vs. 41.5 %; P = 0.012). The rates of moderate, severe, and long-term complications (i.e., 31 days to 5 years after surgery) did not differ significantly between groups. No clinically meaningful differences were detected between the two groups in long-term QOL., Conclusion: LADG showed similar DFS and OS compared to ODG in treating early gastric cancer. Marginal benefits in mild complications were observed with LADG. LADG did not show advantages over ODG regarding other complications and long-term QOL.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors associated with lymph node (LN) metastasis in early gastric cancer patients who underwent endoscopic resection (ER) and to evaluate the feasibility of minimal LN dissection in these patients., Methods: From January 2001 to March 2011, patients who underwent gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy due to the potential risk of LN metastasis after ER were enrolled at National Cancer Center, Korea. The incidence, risk factors, and distribution of LN metastasis were evaluated., Results: Of the 147 enrolled patients, the LN metastasis was identified in 12 patients (8.2%). The incidence of LN metastasis was not significantly increased in patients with submucosal invasion, lymphovascular invasion, and mixed undifferentiated histology [odds ratio (OR), 5.55, 1.349, and 0.387; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.688-43.943, 0.405-4.494, and 0.081-1.84, respectively]. Tumor size more than 2 cm was significantly associated with LN metastasis (OR, 14.056; 95% CI, 1.76-112.267). The incidence of LN metastasis gradually increased from 3.2 to 20%, as number of risk factors increased (P = 0.019). LN metastasis was present primarily along the perigastric area in all except two patients (1.4%) with skip metastasis to extragastric area., Conclusions: Standard surgery with at least D1 + LN dissection must be recommended for patients who proved to have risk factors for LN metastasis after ER, because the potential of skip metastasis is not negligible. Nevertheless, the minimal LN dissection, such as sentinel basin dissection, might be applied cautiously in patients with small-sized tumors after ER.

Background: Extended lymph node dissection beyond D2 in resectable gastric cancer has not shown any survival benefits. However, whether the retropancreatic (No. 13) lymph node should be dissected still remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of additional No. 13 lymph node dissection on D2 gastrectomy for gastric cancer in terms of overall survival., Methods: From May 2001 to December 2006, 528 patients underwent curative resection for the middle- or lower-third advanced gastric cancer at the National Cancer Center, Korea. The patients were grouped according to whether a No. 13 lymphadenectomy was performed (13D+/13D-). Clinicopathological characteristics and treatment-related factors were compared between the two groups. The overall survival was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model., Results: The incidence of No. 13 lymph node metastasis was 6.7 %. There was no significant difference in morbidity or mortality between the 13D+ and 13D- groups. In clinical stages I/II, No. 13 lymph node dissection did not affect overall survival. However, it was an independent prognostic factor in patients with clinical stages III/IV gastric cancer (hazard ratio (HR), 0.55; P = 0.022)., Conclusions: Additional retropancreatic lymph node dissection beyond a D2 gastrectomy might be favorable for survival in patients with clinical stage III/IV middle- or lower-third gastric cancer.

Background: Laparoscopically assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) is technically difficult. Robot surgery has theoretical advantages such as increased degrees of freedom of instruments and a three-dimensional view. The current study aimed to determine whether a robot-assisted total gastrectomy (RATG) has a real benefit over LATG in terms of surgical and oncologic outcomes., Methods: A single-center case-control study was conducted. The study included 36 patients who underwent RATG and 65 patients who underwent LATG at the National Cancer Center in Korea between February 2009 and May 2011. No patients were excluded from the analysis within the study period. Clinicopathologic data, operative data, postoperative morbidity, and pathologic data were analyzed by Student's t-tests and Chi-square tests, as indicated., Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.9 ± 11.7 years in the RATG group and 56.9 ± 12.3 years in the LATG group (P = 0.236). The mean BMI was 23.2 ± 2.5 kg/m(2) in the RATG group and 23.6 ± 3.4 kg/m(2) in the LATG group (P = 0.494). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 8.8 ± 3.3 days in the RATG group and 10.3 ± 10.8 days in the LATG group (P = 0.416). The mean operative time was 305.8 ± 115.8 min in the RATG group and 210.2 ± 57.7 min in the LATG group (P < 0.001). The mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 42.8 ± 12.7 in the RATG group and 39.4 ± 13.4 in the LATG group (P = 0.209). Postoperative complications were experienced by 6 patients (16.7%) in the RATG group and 10 patients (15.4%) in the LATG group (P = 0.866)., Conclusion: Despite early experiences, RATG was shown to be comparable with LATG in terms of surgical and oncologic outcomes. However, no apparent benefit is associated with RATG to date.