Long- and short-term outcomes of laparoscopic gastrectomy versus open gastrectomy in patients with clinically and pathological locally advanced gastric cancer: a propensity-score matching analysis

Background Laparoscopic (laparoscopy-assisted) gastrectomy (LG) has several short-term benefits as compared with open distal gastrectomy (OG) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Survival rates did not differ significantly between LG and OG in retrospective studies of AGC, although some studies included unmatched groups of patients or patients with AGC who had a preoperative diagnosis of early gastric cancer. The aim of present study was to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of patients with AGC who underwent LG with those of patients with AGC who underwent OG using a propensity-score matching analysis. Methods The study group comprised patients with a preoperative and pathologically confirmed diagnosis of AGC who underwent LG or OG with lymphadenectomy between January 2001 and December 2012 in our hospital. To minimize bias between the LG and OG groups, propensity scores were calculated using a logistic regression model and the following variables: sex, age, body-mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class, type of gastrectomy, and clinical and pathological tumor stage. After propensity-score matching, 104 patients (52 who underwent LG and 52 who underwent OG) were studied. Results LG was associated with significantly earlier initiation of food intake (p < 0.01) and a significantly shorter period of postoperative hospitalization (p < 0.01). The incidence of all-grade overall, surgical, and medical complications did not differ significantly between the LG group and OG group (p = 0.24, p = 0.12, and p > 0.99). Overall and relapse-free survival also did not differ between the LG group and OG group (p = 0.96, p = 0.91). In each tumor stage, overall and relapse-free survival did not differ significantly between the LG group and OG group. Conclusion LG can be a feasible treatment that is beneficial in terms of earlier recovery after operation and can be expected to result in similar survival as OG in patients with AGC.