Laparoscopy-assisted versus open D2 radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion: a case control study

BACKGROUND: The application of laparoscopic surgery for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains questionable on account of technical difficulty of D2 lymphadenectomy, and there has been few large-scale follow-up results regarding the oncological adequacy of laparoscopic surgery compared with that of open surgeries for AGC. The aim of this study is to evaluate technical feasibility and oncological efficacy of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion. METHODS: From January 2008 to December 2012, 1114 patients with gastric cancer underwent D2 gastrectomy, including 336 T2 and T3 patients in term of depth of invasion. Of all 336 patients, 224 underwent LAG, while open gastrectomy (OG) performed on the other 112 patients. The comparison was based on the clinicopathologic characteristics, surgical outcome, and follow-up results. RESULTS: There are not significant differences in clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups (P > 0.05). The operation time and first ambulation time was similar in the two groups. However, estimated blood loss, bowel function recovery time and duration of hospital stay were significantly less in the LAG group. No significant difference in morbidity and mortality was found between the LAG group and OG group (11.1% vs. 15.3%, P = 0.266; 0.9% vs. 1.8%, P = 0.859). The mean number of resected lymph nodes (LNS) between the LAG group and OG group was similar (30.6 ± 10.1 vs. 30.3 ± 8.6, P = 0.786). Furthermore, the mean number of removed LNS in each station was not significantly different in the distal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy (P > 0.05). No statistical difference was seen in 1 year survival rate (91.5% vs. 89.8% P > 0.05) and the survival curve after surgery between the LAG group and OG group. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy-assisted D2 radical gastrectomy is feasible, effective and has comparative oncological efficacy compared with open gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion.