Long-term comparison of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy and open distal gastrectomy in advanced gastric cancer

Background

The use of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains a controversial topic, mainly because of doubts about its oncologic validity. To date, literature on the prognosis for AGC after LADG is scarce. This study evaluated the procedure’s long-term benefits compared with those of the conventional, open distal gastrectomy (ODG).

Methods

This study involved 201 patients, 66 of whom underwent LADG, with a mean follow-up period of 49.2 months, from January 1999 to March 2010. A clear set of criteria was used to select patients (including no evidence of lymph node metastasis) and surgeons (subject to their experience). Survival outcomes were assessed by Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank testing. The postoperative recovery and complications of the patients also were monitored.

Results

No significant difference was observed between LADG and ODG in terms of overall survival or disease-specific survival. The corresponding 5-year survival rates for individual tumor node metastasis stages also were comparable in each group. The number of lymph nodes harvested was similar in the two groups, although the operation time was significantly shorter for ODG. The postoperative hospital stay was shorter for LADG patients (average stay of 8.4 vs. 18.1 days in the ODG group; p < 0.001), and the postoperative complication rate was almost half that for ODG (13.6 vs. 25.0 %; p = 0.048).

Conclusion

The combination of the long- and short-term data indicates that LADG should be considered as a feasible alternative to ODG for the treatment of AGC. Its widespread integration requires the accumulation of similar results across multiple centers worldwide.