Which method is more suitable for advanced gastric cancer with enlarged lymph nodes, laparoscopic radical gastrectomy or open gastrectomy?

Predictive Factors for Acute Postoperative Pain After Open Radical Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Background

Pain has become an important factor in evaluating patients' quality of life and clinical treatment. For gastric cancer (GC) patients, open radical gastrectomy (OG) causes significant trauma to the body, increases patients' pain after operation, and delays early recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive factors of acute pain after OG within postoperative 72 h.

Methods

From March 2020 to September 2021, 307 patients who underwent OG were included in the study in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital. The predictors included demographic predictors, pathological data, surgical predictors, and intraoperative predictors. The pain scores at 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after operation were evaluated by numeric rating scale (NRS). The predictors of acute pain were determined by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

The average pain score (NRS) of patients showed a downward trend over time within 72 h after OG. Multivariate analysis indicated that total gastrectomy (OR 1.823, 95% CI 1.094–3.040, P < 0.05), AJCC TNM stage (II) (OR.232, 95% CI 0.062–0.872, P < 0.05), AJCC TNM stage(III) (OR.185, 95% CI 0.049–0.698, P < 0.05), BMI (kg/m²) (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.029–2.976, P < 0.05), distant metastasis (OR 3.054, 95% CI 1.019–9.155, P < 0.05), intraoperative transfusion (OR 2.246, 95% CI 1.267–3.982, P < 0.01) were significant predictive factors for acute pain after OG.

Conclusion

Reasonable postoperative acute pain control was the prerequisite for accelerating the postoperative rehabilitation of patients. In order to reduce the occurrence of excessive or insufficient analgesia, it was necessary for patients who underwent OG to formulate appropriate analgesics according to risk factors.

Comparative Analysis of Clavien-Dindo Grade and Risk Factors of Complications after Dual-Port Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy and Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Gastrectomy

Objective

To compare the Clavien–Dindo grade and risk factors of complications after dual-port laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (DPLDG) and hand-assisted laparoscopic gastrectomy (HALG).

Methods

The clinical data of 775 patients who underwent DPLDG or HALG in our hospital from May 2016 to May 2019 were retrospectively reviewed, and the patients were divided into the DPLDG group (n = 386) and HALG group (n = 389) according to the surgical method to explore the risk factors of postoperative complications by grading their postoperative complications according to the Clavien–Dindo classification system and single-factor and multivariate analysis of the association between variables in clinical data and complications.

Results

Compared with the HALG group, the DPLDG group had significantly shorter surgical time, less intraoperative blood loss, and better postoperative exhaust time (p < 0.05), with no significant difference in other clinical indicators between the two groups (p > 0.05); the postoperative complication incidence rate of DPLDG group was significantly lower than that of the HALG group; it was shown in the single-factor analysis that the age, tumor length, intraoperative blood loss, pathological stages, and surgical method were related to the postoperative complications, and the results of multivariate analysis indicated that DPLDG was the protective factor for reducing postoperative complications, while age no less than 60 years old and intraoperative blood loss no less than 180 ml were the independent risk factors leading to complications; after surgery, the PNI level values at T1, T2, and T3 of DPLDG group were significantly higher than those of the HALG group (p < 0.05); and at 1 month after surgery, both groups obtained significantly higher GLQI scores than before, and the GLQI score of the DPLDG group was significantly higher in the between-group comparison (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The DPLDG has lower postoperative complication incidence rate than the HALG, but age no less than 60 years old and intraoperative blood loss not less than 180 ml are the independent risk factors for postoperative complications, so advanced prevention measures shall be taken to lower the incidence of complications.

Short-term outcomes of laparoscopic versus open total gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a cohort study using the propensity score matching method

Background

Until now, little is known about the benefit of laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). This study was designed to compare the safety and efficacy of the LTG versus the open total gastrectomy (OTG) approach after NACT treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC).

Methods

This study involved a cohort of 145 patients with AGC who underwent total gastrectomy after NACT at our centre between April 2013 and August 2018 including 24 cases of LTG and 121 OTG. The baseline characteristics were matched based on 1:2 balanced propensity score-matching method.

Results

Sixty-nine marched cases were finally analysed (23 LTG vs. 46 OTG). All patients underwent R0 resection. Compared to the OTG group, the LTG group had a longer surgery duration (P<0.001), but a shorter incision length (P<0.001) and less intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) time after surgery (P=0.027). No statistical differences were observed in terms of blood loss, retrieved lymph nodes (LNs), resection margin, length of stay, postoperative pain intensity, and complications (P>0.05).

Conclusions

LTG had comparable safety and histological findings to OTG after NACT in the perioperative period; however, LTG is less invasive and patients can benefit from less IV-PCA use. Further research is needed to investigate long-term effects.

Keywords

Gastric cancer (GC); neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT); safety; laparoscopic technique.