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.

PurposeThe Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has conducted nationwide surveys every 5 years, targeting patients who received surgical treatment for gastric cancer. We report the results of the 2014 nationwide survey and compare them to those of the 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2009 surveys.Materials and MethodsFrom March 2015 to January 2016, a standardized case report form was sent to every member of the KGCA via e-mail. The survey consisted of 29 questions, regarding patient demographics as well as tumor-, and surgery-related factors. The completed data forms were analyzed by the KGCA information committee.ResultsData on 15,613 patients were collected from 69 institutions. The mean age was 60.9±12.1 years, and the proportion of patients more than 70 years of age increased from 9.1% in 1995 to 25.3% in 2014. Proximal cancer incidence steadily increased from 11.2% in 1995 to 16.0% in 2014. Early gastric cancer incidence consistently increased and accounted for 61.0% of all cases in 2014. The surgical approach was diversified in 2014, and 7,818 cases (50.1%) were treated with a minimally invasive approach. The most common anastomosis was Billroth I (50.2%) after distal gastrectomy, and the proportion of Roux-en-Y anastomoses performed increased to 8.6%.ConclusionsThe results of this survey are expected to be important data for future studies and to be useful for generating a national cancer control program.

Tumor size should be considered during sentinel lymph node mapping to prevent false-negative results in patients with early gastric cancer. If sentinel nodes are not found in the perigastric lymph nodes, No. 7, 8, and 9 stations should be explored for prevention of false-negative sentinel node mapping results.

LATG is a technically feasible procedure as compared with LADG. However, its postoperative complication rate is higher than that of LADG, especially that of anastomotic stricture. A more effective anastomotic method during LATG is required to prevent stricture.