Short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy versus open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer in overweight patients

Purpose and background Gastrectomy for gastric cancer in overweight patients is associated with a high incidence of postoperative complications and difficulties in achieving adequate lymph node dissection. We conducted this study to compare the outcomes of laparoscopic and open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for gastric cancer in overweight Japanese patients. Methods This retrospective study analyzed data from 180 patients with a body mass index >= 25 who underwent distal gastrectomy for pStage I-III gastric cancer. Postoperative complications, the number of harvested lymph nodes, and long-term survival were compared between ODG and laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG). Results Postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo (CD) grade >= 2 and >= 3 were significantly higher after ODG than after LDG (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis identified age and ODG as factors related to complications of CD >= 2 (p = 0.014 and 0.002). The number of harvested lymph nodes at region 4sb was significantly higher in LDG for patients with pStage III disease. The 5-year lymph node recurrence-free survival tended to be better in LDG; however, no difference was found between ODG and LDG at any pathological stage. There were no significant differences in the 5-year overall and recurrence-free survival rates after ODG vs. LDG. Conclusions LDG for gastric cancer appears to be associated with a lower incidence of postoperative complications than ODG, without compromising long-term survival, even for overweight patients.

Automated summary

This study compared the outcomes of laparoscopic and open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer in overweight Japanese patients. The results showed that laparoscopic distal gastrectomy was associated with lower incidence of postoperative complications without compromising long-term survival.