Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy demonstrates acceptable outcomes regarding complications compared to open surgery for gastric cancer patients with pylorus outlet obstruction

Background

For gastric cancer (GC) patients with pylorus outlet obstruction (POO), whether laparoscopic surgery has advantages over open surgery remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the differences between patients with and without POO in open and laparoscopic groups and to determine the differences between laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) and open distal gastrectomy (ODG) in GC patients with POO.

Methods

A total of 241 GC patients with POO who underwent distal gastrectomy at the Department of Gastric Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between 2016 and 2021 were included in this study. A total of 1,121 non-POO patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery and 948 non-POO patients who underwent open surgery from 2016 to 2021 were also enrolled in the study. We compared complication rates and hospital stays between open and laparoscopic groups.

Results

There was no significant difference for LDG between GC patients with and without POO regarding the overall complication rates (P = 0.063), the Grade III-V complication rate (P = 0.673), and the anastomotic complication rate (P = 0.497) from 2016 to 2021. The patients with POO had longer preoperative hospital stay (P = 0.001) and postoperative hospital stay (P=0.007) compared to patients without POO. No significant difference was observed for open patients between POO and non-POO patients regarding the overall complication rate (P = 0.357), grade III-V complication rate (P = 1.000), and anastomosis-related complication rate (P = 0.766). Compared with open surgery in GC patients with POO (n = 111), the total complication rate of the LDG group was 16.2%, which was significantly lower than that of the open group (26.1%, P = 0.041). No significant differences in the Grade III-V complication rate (P = 0.574) and anastomotic complication rate (P = 0.587) were observed between laparoscopic and open groups. Patients receiving laparoscopic surgery had shorter postoperative hospital stay than open surgery (P = 0.001). More resected lymph nodes (LNs) were also observed in the laparoscopic group (P = 0.0145).

Conclusion

The comorbidity of GC with POO does not increase the complication rate after laparoscopic or open distal gastrectomy. In GC patients with POO, laparoscopic surgery shows advantages over open surgery with a lower overall complication rate, shorter postoperative hospital stay, and more harvested lymph nodes. Laparoscopic surgery is a safe, feasible, and effective treatment for GC with POO.

Development and verification of a nomogram for predicting the prognosis of resectable gastric cancer with outlet obstruction

Background

The prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC) with gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) after gastrectomy is highly variable. In this study, we aimed to develop a nomogram to predict the prognosis of these patients.

Patients and Methods

Data from 218 GC patients with GOO who underwent gastrectomy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were retrospectively collected as a training cohort. The data of 59 patients with the same diagnosis who underwent gastrectomy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were collected as an external verification cohort. A nomogram for the overall survival (OS) was developed using the Cox regression model in the training cohort, which was validated in a verification cohort.

Results

Multivariate analysis showed that the surgical procedure (P < 0.001), period of chemotherapy (P < 0.001), T stage (P = 0.006), N stage (P = 0.040), systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) (P < 0.001), and fibrinogen level (P = 0.026) were independent factors affecting OS. The nomogram constructed on the aforementioned factors for predicting the 1- and 3-year OS achieved a Harrell’s concordance index (C-index) of 0.756 and 0.763 for the training and verification cohorts, respectively. Compared with the 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM) staging system, the nomogram had higher C-index values and areas under the curve (AUCs) and slightly higher net clinical benefit.

Conclusion

Compared to the 8th AJCC staging system, the newly developed nomogram showed superior performance in predicting the survival of GC patients with GOO after gastrectomy.

Effects of Preoperative Pyloric Stenosis on Outcomes and Nutritional Status in 73 Patients Following Curative Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Retrospective Study from a Single Center

Background

The aim of this study was to explore the potential impact of pyloric stenosis (PS) on the nutritional status, the incidence of postoperative complications, and the long-term prognosis of distal gastric cancer (GC) patients after curative resection.

Material/Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the data of 343 GC patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer between January 2010 and December 2013. All patients were divided into 2 groups according to the status of PS. Their clinical and pathological features, nutritional indicators, and incidence of postoperative complications were compared and potential prognostic factors were analyzed using the propensity score matching analysis (PSM).

Results

Seventy-four (21.6%) patients had PS. Patients with PS had worse survival outcomes than those without PS (χ²=21.369, P<0.001). Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that PS, depth of invasion, and lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05) were the independent predictors of overall survival (OS). Patients with PS had significantly higher lymph node metastasis in No. 3, 4sb, 4d, 6, 8a, 9, and 14v lymph nodes. Patients with PS had significantly lower preoperative BMI, more weight loss, and lower prealbumin than those without PS. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in postoperative complications, morbidity, or mortality.

Conclusions

Distal GC patients with PS have poor clinicopathological and nutritional status and poor prognosis. However, PS does not increase surgery-related morbidity and mortality.

Surgical Outcomes and Survival Prognostic Factors for Palliative Gastrectomies in Stage IV Resectable Gastric Cancer Outlet Obstruction Patients

Purpose

Currently, there is no clear evidence to support any specific treatment as a principal therapy for stage IV gastric cancer outlet obstruction (GCOO) patients. This study evaluated the outcomes of palliative gastrectomies and survival prognostic factors in patients with stage IV resectable GCOO.

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 48 stage IV GCOO patients who underwent palliative gastrectomies between June 2010 and December 2019. Palliative gastrectomies were performed only in patients with resectable disease. Early surgical outcomes and prognostic factors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

There were no specific risk factors for postoperative complications, except for being underweight. Severe postoperative complications developed in five patients, and most of the patients underwent interventional procedures and received broad-spectrum antibiotics for intra-abdominal abscesses. The multivariate survival analysis showed that palliative chemotherapy is a positive prognostic factor, while the specific type of hematogenous and lymphatic metastasis is a negative prognostic factor.

Conclusions

We recommend that the treatment method for stage IV GCOO should be selected according to each patient's physical condition and tumor characteristics. In addition, we suggest that palliative gastrectomies can be performed in stage IV resectable GCOO patients without unfavorable prognostic factors (types of hematogenous and lymphatic metastases).

Relationship between initial management strategy and survival in patients with gastric outlet obstruction due to gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

The optimal management of gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) due to gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. We examined the relationships between clinical and management variables and outcomes in patients with GC having GOO.

METHODS

The GOO management and clinical course were reviewed in patients with GC and GOO. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to identify variables predictive of overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

The study included 59 patients. Eleven had imaging evidence of metastasis and 35 had pathologically confirmed peritoneal disease. Initial management included resection in 23 patients, feeding jejunostomy ± decompressive gastrostomy (JT/GT) in 25, surgical gastrojejunostomy in five, and endoscopic intervention in six. Seven patients with initial JT/GT underwent resection after neoadjuvant therapy. Median OS (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 21.4 (0.0-45.1) months in the upfront resection group (median follow-up, 14.7 months) and not reached in those with initial JT/GT, neoadjuvant therapy, and later resection (median follow-up, 26.5 months) (P = .18). On multivariable analysis, clinically positive nodes (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.76; 95% CI, 1.17-12.12; P = .03), metastasis on CT (HR: 3.97; 95% CI: 1.53-10.26;P = .01), and resection (HR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.17-0.79;P = .01) independently predicted OS.

CONCLUSION

In GOO due to GC, OS is similar after treatment with upfront resection compared with JT/GT, neoadjuvant therapy, and later resection. Upfront JT/GT may allow patients to tolerate chemotherapy and improve selection for gastrectomy.

The Predictive and Prognostic Factors in Patients with Gastric Cancer Accompanied by Gastric Outlet Obstruction

Purpose

This study is aimed at evaluating the clinicopathological features and prognostic significance of gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) in patients with distal gastric cancer.

Methods

A retrospective review of 1564 individuals with distal gastric cancer from 2002 to 2010 was performed. In total, 157 patients had GOO. The clinicopathological features of the patients with GOO were compared with those of the patients without GOO. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard model were used to assess the overall survival.

Results

The patients with distal gastric cancer with GOO generally presented more aggressive pathologic features, a poorer nutritional status, more duodenal infiltration, and peritoneal dissemination than those with cancer without GOO. In the univariate analysis, curability, GOO, age, prealbumin, albumin, hemoglobin (Hb), the tumor size, the macroscopic type, lymph node metastasis, and the depth of invasion had a statistically significant influence on prognosis. The multivariate analysis showed that curability, GOO, the tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and the depth of invasion were independent prognostic factors.

Conclusions

Gastric cancer with GOO exhibits aggressive biological features and has poor outcomes. The multivariate analysis showed that curability, GOO, the tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and the depth of invasion were independent prognostic factors. The gastric outlet status should be considered in the selection of surgical treatment methods for patients with gastric cancer.

Impact of Age and Comorbidity on the Short-Term Surgical Outcome after Laparoscopy-Assisted Distal Gastrectomy for Adenocarcinoma

The aim of this study was to determine whether age and comorbidity are valuable risk factors of the short-term surgical outcome after laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) in patients with adenocarcinoma. A series of 387 patients who underwent LADG at three university hospitals between March 2006 and December 2010 were retrospectively studied. To compare the short-term surgical outcomes of LADG of elderly patients with those of younger patients, patients were categorized into an elderly group (older than 70 years of age) and a younger group (70 years of age or younger). For another comparative analysis to identify risk factors of postoperative complications after LADG, patients were categorized into two groups: those with complications and those without complications. With the exception of sex ratio and comorbidity rate, two age groups were nonsignificantly different in terms of demographic, operative, pathologic, and short-term surgical outcome data. Our data support the safety and feasibility of LADG in elderly patients. However, our data show that comorbidity is an important predictor of postoperative systemic complications after LADG. Patients with an age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) of 3 or greater were found to be at a greater risk of developing systemic complications, which suggests that age-adjusted CCI is a useful predictor of systemic complications after LADG and that it could be used routinely for the perioperative care of aged patients with comorbidity. We recommend age-adjusted CCI be used in comparative clinical research studies on the surgical outcomes across surgeons and hospitals.

Perioperative Epirubicin, Oxaliplatin, and Capecitabine Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer: Safety and Feasibility in an Interim Survival Analysis

PURPOSE

Perioperative chemotherapy improves survival outcomes in locally advanced (LA) gastric cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed patients with LA gastric cancer who were offered perioperative chemotherapy consisting of epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (EOX) from May 2013 to December 2015 at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.

RESULTS

Among the 268 consecutive patients in our study, 260 patients (97.0%) completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 200 patients (74.6%) underwent D2 lymphadenectomy, and 178 patients (66.4%) completed adjuvant chemotherapy. The median follow-up period was 17 months. For the entire cohort, the median overall survival (OS), 3-year OS rate, median progression-free survival (PFS), and 3-year PFS rate were 37 months, 64.4%, 31 months, and 40%, respectively. PFS and OS were significantly inferior in patients who presented with features of obstruction than in those who did not (P=0.0001). There was no difference in survival with respect to tumor histology (well to moderately differentiated vs. poorly differentiated, signet ring vs. non-signet ring histology) or location (proximal vs. distal). Survival was prolonged in patients with an early pathological T stage and a pathological node-negative status. In a multivariate analysis, postoperative pathological nodal status and gastric outlet obstruction on presentation significantly correlated with survival.

CONCLUSIONS

EOX chemotherapy with curative resection and D2 lymphadenectomy is a suggested alternative to the existing perioperative regimens. The acceptable postoperative complication rate and relatively high resection, chemotherapy completion, and survival rates obtained in this study require further evaluation and validation in a clinical trial.

Postoperative Morbidity and Mortality Following D2 Gastrectomy-an Audit of 456 Cases

BACKGROUND

D2 gastrectomy is routinely performed in Japanese centres for carcinoma stomach with low morbidity and mortality. There were concerns in Western centres with regard to D2 gastrectomy in view of high morbidity and mortality rates. This study was aimed to study the postoperative morbidity and mortality following D2 gastrectomy for carcinoma stomach in a high volume centre in India.

METHODS

It was a retrospective analysis of all the patients who underwent D2 gastrectomy from 1991 to 2010.

RESULTS

D2 gastrectomy was performed in 456 patients during this period. Respiratory events were the most common cause of morbidity in the study group (2.4 %). Male gender (p = 0.007), presence of gastric outlet obstruction (p = 0.01) and pathological T4 (p = 0.05) independently predicted increased post operative morbidity in multivariate analysis. The morbidity and mortality rates declined with increase in hospital volume and experience of the surgeon.

CONCLUSION

D2 gastrectomy for carcinoma stomach can be performed safely in specialized centres with low morbidity and mortality rates.

Laparoscopy-assisted versus open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer in elderly patients: a retrospective comparative study

BACKGROUND

With the current increased longevity in elderly population, surgeons can expect to operate more frequently on elderly patients with both malignancies and comorbid medical conditions. This study aimed to compare the surgical and early postoperative outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) with those of open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for gastric cancer in patients 70 years of age or older.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis based on a prospectively collected database of elderly patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy or ODG from February 2013 to January 2014. Preoperative patient baseline parameters, surgical and oncological outcomes, postoperative complications and pathologic results were analyzed in this report.

RESULTS

Distal gastrectomy was performed for 50 patients with the age of 70 years or older, using laparoscopic surgery for 23 patients (LADG group) and open surgery for 27 patients (ODG group). The mean age of LADG group was 76.6 years and ODG group 80.0 years. The comparison between the two groups revealed statistically similar results regarding age, gender, BMI, ASA class, history of previous surgeries, CCI and pathologic characteristics. The LADG group was characterized by less intraoperative blood loss (LADG group 100 mL vs. ODG group 250 mL, P < 0.001), less narcotic use (LADG group 1 day vs. ODG group 3 days, P < 0.001), faster bowel function recovery (time to first flatus: LADG group 51.6 h vs. ODG group 67.2 h, P < 0.001; days to oral intake: LADG group 6.1 days vs. ODG group 7.9 days, P = 0.002) and shorter postoperative hospital stay (LADG group 12 days vs. ODG group 16 days, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in postoperative complication rate (overall complication rate: LADG group 21.7 % vs. ODG group 25.9 %, P = 0.730), survival rate (P = 0.719), postoperative recurrence and metastasis rate between the patients who underwent LADG and ODG.

CONCLUSIONS

LADG for gastric cancer is feasible, efficacious and safe in elderly patients and may be superior to conventional open resection as regards some surgical outcomes.

Unresectable gastric cancer with gastric outlet obstruction and distant metastasis responding to intraperitoneal and folfox chemotherapy after palliative laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy: report of a case

Background

Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) caused by unresectable gastric cancer is a challenging aspect of patient care. There have been no reports involving patients with obstructing gastric cancer and several incurable factors curatively treated by multimodal treatments.

Case presentation

We report a case of 55-year-old man who was diagnosed with a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma in the pre-pyloric antrum with GOO by gastroscopy. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed thickening of the gastric wall and adjacent fat infiltration, and a large amount of food in the stomach suggesting a passage disturbance, enlarged lymph nodes along the common hepatic and left gastric arteries, and multiple hepatic metastases. The serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level was 343 ng/ml and the carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 level was within normal limits. The patient underwent a laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy for palliation of the GOO. On the 3^rd and 12^th days after surgery, he received intraperitoneal chemotherapy with 40 mg of docetaxel and 150 mg of carboplatin. Simultaneously, combined chemotherapy with 85 mg/m² of oxaliplatin for the 1^st day and 600 mg/m² of 5-FU for 2 days (FOLFOX regimen) was administered from the 8^th post-operative day. After completion of nine courses of FOLFOX, the patient achieved a complete response (CR) with complete disappearance of the primary tumor and the metastatic foci. He underwent a radical subtotal gastrectomy with D3 lymph node dissection 4 months after the initial palliative surgery. The pathologic results revealed no residual primary tumor and no lymph node metastasis in 43 dissected lymph nodes. He has maintained a CR for 18 months since the last operation.

Conclusion

Combination chemotherapy with systemic and intraperitoneal chemotherapy following laparoscopic bypass surgery showed marked efficacy in the treatment for unresectable advanced gastric cancer with GOO.