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Background: Although several studies compare surgical results of laparoscopic and open colonic resections, there is no study of laparoscopic gastrectomy compared with open gastrectomy. Hypothesis: When compared with conventional open gastrectomy, laparoscopy-assisted Billroth I gastrectomy is less invasive in patients with early-stage gastric cancer. Design: Retrospective review of operative data, blood analyses, and postoperative clinical course after Billroth I gastrectomy. Setting: University hospital in Japan. Patients: The study included 102 patients who were treated with Billroth I gastrectomy for early-stage gastric cancer from January 1993 to July 1999: 49 with laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy and 53 with conventional open gastrectomy.Main Outcome Measures: Demographic features examined were operation time; blood loss; blood cell counts of leukocytes, granulocytes, and lymphocytes; serum levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, total protein, and albumin; body temperature; weight loss; analgesic requirements; time to first flatus; time to liquid diet; length of postoperative hospital stay; complications; proximal margin of the resected stomach; and number of harvested lymph nodes.Results: Significant differences (P<.05) were present between laparoscopy-assisted and conventional open gastrectomy when the following features were compared: blood loss (158 vs 302 mL), leukocyte count on day 1 (9.42 vs 11.14ϫ10 9 /L) and day 3 (6.99 vs 8.22ϫ10 9 /L), granulocyte count on day 1 (7.28 vs 8.90 ϫ 10 9 /L), C-reactive protein level on day 7 (2.91 vs 5.19 mg/dL), interleukin 6 level on day 3 (4.2 vs 26.0 U/mL), serum albumin level on day 7 (35.6 vs 33.9 g/L), number of times analgesics given (3.3 vs 6.2), time to first flatus (3.9 vs 4.5 days), time to liquid diet (5.0 vs 5.7 days), postoperative hospital stay (17.6 vs 22.5 days), and weight loss on day 14 (5.5% vs 7.1%). There was no significant difference between laparoscopy-assisted and conventional open gastrectomy with regard to operation time (246 vs 228 minutes), proximal margin (6.2 vs 6.0 cm), number of harvested lymph nodes (18.4 vs 22.1), and complication rate (8% vs 21%).Conclusions: Laparoscopy-assisted Billroth I gastrectomy, when compared with conventional open gastrectomy, has several advantages, including less surgical trauma, less impaired nutrition, less pain, rapid return of gastrointestinal function, and shorter hospital stay, with no decrease in operative curability. When performed by a skilled surgeon, laparoscopy-assisted Billroth I gastrectomy is a safe and useful technique for patients with earlystage gastric cancer.

Quality of life after Billroth I gastrectomy was significantly better in patients in whom a laparoscopic technique was used than in those who underwent a conventional method. LAG is less invasive and better accepted by patients and is the procedure of choice for the treatment of early gastric cancer.

Background. Despite recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, gastric carcinoma remains a major cause of death in the world. Methods. The clinicopathologic profile of 10,000 consecutive patients who underwent primary gastrectomy during 1962‐1989 were reviewed and prognostic factors influencing survival in those with gastric carcinoma were analyzed in 7031 patients. Results. Incidence of gastrectomy for carcinoma has increased steadily and the rate of early carcinoma exceeded that of advanced carcinoma in the recent period of 1985‐1989. Five‐year and 10‐year survival rates were 46.1% and 35.2% in 3868 patients with advanced carcinoma, and 88.8% and 77.3% in 3163 patients with early carcinoma, respectively. In patients with advanced carcinoma, significantly poorer survival rates were noticed for patients older than 70 years of age, those who underwent total gastrectomy, tumors involving the entire stomach or greater than 10 cm in diameter, a macroscopic diffusely infiltrative pattern, adenosquamous histologic type, positive surgical resection margins, or lymph node metastasis. None of the above poor prognostic features were identified in patients with early gastric carcinoma group except for those older than 70 years of age. Although lymph node metastases were present in 10% of early gastric carcinomas, this feature did not impart a poor prognosis. Patients with advanced carcinoma grossly resembling an early carcinoma had an intermediate prognosis, suggesting the existence of a developmentally midstage lesion between early and advanced carcinoma. Conclusions. The study illustrates that the most important role for clinicians treating with gastric carcinoma should be early detection and aggressive surgery for resectable tumors, followed by detailed pathologic examination.

BACKGROUND To the authors' knowledge, there are few studies regarding the predictors of early and late recurrence after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma, and it is unknown whether prognostic factors can be applied to the timing of recurrence. The current study analyzed patients who died of recurrent gastric carcinoma and clarified histopathologic indicators associated with early and late recurrence. METHODS The study included 138 patients who died of recurrent gastric carcinoma after gastrectomy that was performed in the Department of Surgery I, Oita Medical University, between 1982–1995. Clinicopathologic findings were compared between 104 patients who died within 2 years after gastrectomy (early recurrence group) and 34 patients who died > 2 years after gastrectomy (late recurrence group). Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the independent factors correlated with the timing of recurrence. RESULTS When compared with the late recurrence group, the early recurrence group was characterized by a tumor size ≥ 5 cm (92% in the early recurrence group vs. 74% in the late recurrence group), positive lymphatic invasion (64% vs. 38%), extended lymph node metastasis (73% vs. 35%), Stage III or IV disease (87% vs. 62%), and limited lymph node dissection (32% vs. 3%). The mean survival time was influenced by the lymphatic invasion (P < 0.01), vascular invasion (P < 0.05), level of lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01), stage of disease (P < 0.01), and extent of lymph node dissection (P < 0.01). On multivariate analysis, survival time was found to be associated independently with the stage of disease (Stage I, II vs. Stage III, IV) or the level of lymph node metastasis (N0, N1 vs. N2, N3). CONCLUSIONS The stage of disease and level of lymph node metastasis were found to be the most significant factors independently associated with the survival time after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. Patients with more advanced stage of disease (Stage III, IV) or those with extended lymph node metastasis (N2, N3) frequently died of recurrence within 2 years after gastrectomy. Cancer 2000;89:255–61. © 2000 American Cancer Society.