Advances,breakthroughs,and challenges in gastric cancer surgery

Gastric cancer(GC)remains a substantial health burden worldwide,ranking fifth in incidence and third in mortality among all cancer types.Surgeons have persistently attempted to address this growing burden through surgical management of GC encompassing various aspects of surgery,including advances in surgical techniques and tools for minimally invasive surgery,novel technology for real-time image-guided surgery,and function-preserving and oncometabolic surgeries,aimed at improving patients’quality of life.The current perspective discusses the five most critical dimensions of the recent technical improvements and conceptual changes in GC surgery.We recommend further exploration of long-term benefits of these advancements,identification of breakthrough solutions to address current challenges,and delivery of the best quality of care.

Exploring ideal operative time for best outcomes in gastric cancer surgery:A multi-institutional study based on KLASS-07 database

Objective:While a rushed operation can omit essential procedures,prolonged operative time results in higher morbidity.Nevertheless,the optimal operative time range remains uncertain.This study aimed to estimate the ideal operative time range and evaluate its applicability in laparoscopic cancer surgery.Methods:A prospectively collected multicenter database of 397 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy were retrospectively reviewed.The ideal operative time range was statistically calculated by separately analyzing the operative time of uneventful surgeries.Finally,intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared among the shorter,ideal,and longer operative time groups.Results:The statistically calculated ideal operative time was 135.4-165.4 min.The longer operative time(LOT)group had a lower rate of uneventful,perfect surgery than the ideal or shorter operative time(IOT/SOT)group(2.8%vs.8.8%and 2.2%vs.13.4%,all P<0.05).Longer operative time increased bleeding,postoperative morbidities,and delayed diet and discharge(all P<0.05).Particularly,an uneventful,perfect surgery could not be achieved when the operative time exceeded 240 min.Regardless of ideal time range,SOT group achieved the highest percentage of uneventful surgery(13.4%),which was possible by surgeon's ability to retrieve a higher number of lymph nodes and perform≥150 gastrectomies annually.Conclusions:Operative time longer than the ideal time range(especially≥240 min)should be avoided.If the essential operative procedure were faithfully conducted without compromising oncological safety,an operative time shorter than the ideal range leaded to a better prognosis.Efforts to minimize operative time should be attempted with sufficient surgical experience.

Self-expandable metal stents in patients with postoperative delayed gastric emptying after distal gastrectomy

AIM To investigate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic stent insertion in patients with delayed gastric emptying after gastrectomy.METHODS In this study, we prospectively collected data from patients who underwent stent placement for delayed gastric emptying(DGE) after distal gastrectomy between June 2010 and April 2017, at a tertiary referral academic center. Clinical improvement, complications, and consequences after stent insertion were analyzed.RESULTS Technical success was achieved in all patients(100%). Early symptom improvement was observed in 15 of 20 patients(75%) and clinical success was achieved in all patients. Mean follow-up period was 1178.3 ± 844.1 d and median stent maintenance period was 51 d(range 6-2114 d). During the follow-up period, inserted stents were passed spontaneously per rectum without any complications in 14 of 20 patients(70%). Symptom improvement was maintained after stent placement without the requirement of any additional intervention in 19 of 20 patients(95%).CONCLUSION Endoscopic stent placement provides prompt relief of obstructive symptoms. Thus, it can be considered an effective and safe salvage technique for post-operative DGE.

Oncometabolic surgery:Emergence and legitimacy for investigation

Studies on morbid obesity have shown remarkable improvement of diabetes in patients who have undergone bariatric operations.It was subsequently shown that these operations induce diabetes remission independent of the resultant weight loss;as a result,surgeons began to investigate whether operations for gastric cancer(GC)could have the same beneficial effect on diabetes as bariatric operations.It was then shown in multiple reports that followed that certain operations for GC were able to improve or even cure type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2 DM)in GC patients.This finding gave rise to the concept of"oncometabolic surgery",in which a patient diagnosed with both GC and T2 DM undergo a single operation with the purpose of treating both diseases.With the increasing incidence of T2 DM,oncometabolic surgery has the potential to improve the quality of life and even extend survival of many GC patients.However,because the GC patient population and the bariatric patient population are wildly different and because different GC operations have different properties,the effect of oncometabolic surgery must be carefully assessed and engineered in order to maximize benefit and avoid harm.This manuscript aims to summarize the findings made so far in the field of oncometabolic surgery and to provide an outlook regarding the possibility of oncometabolic surgery being incorporated into standard clinical practice.

腹腔镜胃癌手术的历史与展望

胃恶性肿瘤是全世界常见且致命的恶性肿瘤之一。根据2012年数据,胃癌居全世界恶性肿瘤发病率第5位,肿瘤相关病死率第3位。胃癌是严重危及人民健康的疾病之一。腹腔镜手术不仅将手术创伤最小化,且在降低手术并发症的同时加速患者康复。因此,该技术在外科领域已逐渐取代开腹手术。笔者分析腹腔镜胃癌手术相关前瞻性、随机性研究等相关文献,结合自身临床经验及最新见解,就腹腔镜胃癌手术的历史、现状及发展趋势进行深入阐述。