• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.4-15
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• 2021

Recently, endoscopic screening systems have enabled the diagnosis of gastric cancer in the early stages. Early gastric cancer (EGC) is typically characterized by a shallow invasion depth and small size, which can hinder localization of EGC tumors during laparoscopic surgery. Here, we review nine recently reported tumor localization methods for the laparoscopic resection of EGCs. Preoperative dye or blood tattooing has the disadvantage of spreading. Preoperative 3-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction is not performed in real time during laparoscopic gastrectomy. Thus, they are considered to have a low accuracy. Intraoperative portable abdominal radiography and intraoperative laparoscopic ultrasonography methods can provide real-time feedback, but these methods require expertise, and it can be difficult to define the clips in some gastric regions. Despite a few limitations, intraoperative gastrofibroscopy provides real-time feedback with high accuracy. The detection system using an endoscopic magnetic marking clip, fluorescent clip, and radio-frequency identification detection system clip is considered highly accurate and provides real-time feedback; we expect a commercial version of this setup to be available in the near future. However, there is not yet an easy method for accurate real-time detection. We hope that improved devices will soon be developed and used in clinical settings.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.39-45
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• 2009

Endoscopic resection has been established as one of the treatment options for selected cases of early gastric cancer in Korea. Yet the indications, best treatment methods, management of complications and follow-up methods after the procedure are still uncertain. Some large-scale multicenter studies have recently been reported in Korea. In this review, I will provide an overview of the recent published articles and future directions for endoscopic resection of early gastric cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.232-236
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• 2012

Purpose: With an increase in life expectancy, more elderly patients are presenting with gastric cancer. As a result it is yet be resolved whether laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy is a suitable treatment for elderly patients with early gastric cancer. This study retrospectively compared surgical outcomes of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy between elderly and nonelderly patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The study group was comprised of 316 patients who underwent laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy between April 2005 and December 2010. Of these patients, 93 patients whose ages were 65 years or more were compared with 223 patients who were younger. Results: There were no differences in the short term outcome or minor complication rate between the elderly patients and the nonelderly patients. The hospital stay was significantly longer and the major complication rate was significantly higher for the elderly patients compared with nonelderly patients. Conclusions: Laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer in the elderly patients had comparable operation time and blood loss with the nonelderly group. However, the safety and advantage of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy in the elderly patients need to be further studied in higher volume trials.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.146-154
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• 2011

Endoscopic resection has been accepted as a curative modality for early gastric cancer (EGC). Since conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) has been introduced, many improvements in endoscopic accessories and techniques have been achieved. Recently, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) using various electrosurgical knives has been performed for complete resection of EGC and enables complete resection of EGC, which is difficult to completely resect in the era of conventional EMR. Currently, ESD is accepted as the standard method for endoscopic resection of EGC in indicated cases. In this review, the history of endoscopic treatment for EGC, overall ESD procedures, and indications and clinical results of endoscopic treatment will be presented.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2004

Purpose: There is no established treatment-related prognostic factor for gastric cancer except a curative tumor resection. This study was done to clarify the prognostic value of early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (EPIC) in patients with serosa-positive gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the postoperative survival data of 209 patients with serosapositive gastric cancer treated by surgery and chemotherapy. The survival period for patients was calculated from the date of resection until cancer-related death or the last date of follow-up; Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted and compared by using the log-rank test. A multivariate analysis was done by using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Statistically significant differences in survival rates were noted based on gender, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, stage, location of tumor, macroscopic type, extent of gastric resection, curability of surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Five-year survival rates of patients who received EPIC and systemic chemotherapy were 49 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively (P=0.009). A multivariate analysis revealed that invasion of an adjacent organ, lymph node metastasis, total gastrectomy, and palliative surgery were poor independent prognostic factors. Also, EPIC had a marginal prognostic value (P=0.056). Conclusion: Perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy can possibly be one of the independent prognostic indicators in case of serosa-positive gastric cancer. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2004;4:89-94)

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 2020

Purpose: Proximal gastrectomy (PG) is a function-preserving surgery in cases of proximally located early-stage gastric cancer. Because gastroesophageal reflux is a major pitfall of this operation, we devised a modified esophagogastrostomy (EG) anastomosis to fix the distal part of the posterior esophageal wall to the proximal part of the anterior stomach wall to produce an anti-reflux mechanism; we named this the SPADE operation. This study aimed to show demonstrate the clinical outcomes of the SPADE operation and compare them to those of previous PG cases. Materials and Methods: Case details of 56 patients who underwent PG between January 2012 and March 2018 were retrospectively reviewed: 30 underwent conventional esophagogastrostomy (CEG) anastomosis using a circular stapler, while 26 underwent the SPADE operation. Early postoperative clinical outcome-related reflux symptoms, endoscopic findings, and postoperative complications were compared in this case-control study. Results: Follow-up endoscopy showed more frequent reflux esophagitis cases in the CEG group than in the SPADE group (30% vs. 15.3%, P=0.19). Similarly, bile reflux (26.7% vs. 7.7%, P=0.08) and residual food (P=0.01) cases occurred more frequently in the CEG group than in the SPADE group. In the CEG group, 13 patients (43.3%) had mild reflux symptoms, while 3 patients (10%) had severe reflux symptoms. In the SPADE group, 3 patients (11.5%) had mild reflux symptoms, while 1 had severe reflux symptoms (absolute difference, 31.8%; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-29.64; P=0.01). Conclusions: A novel modified EG, the SPADE operation, has the potential to decrease gastroesophageal reflux following a PG.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2012

Laparoscopic gastrectomy was begun in 1995 in Korea. But, there was 4 years gap to reactivate in 1999. High incidence of gastric cancer and increasing proportion of early cancer through national screening program along with huge effort and enthusiasm of laparoscopic gastric surgeon, and active academic exchange with Japanese doctors contributed development of laparoscopic gastrectomy in Korea. Study group activity of Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS) group and Collaborative Action for Gastric Cancer (COACT) group were paramount to evoke large scale multicenter clinical study and various well performed clinical studies. This review encompasses mainly international publications about this area so far in Korea.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.65-68
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• 2013

Gastric carcinoma rarely presents as a perforation, but when it does, is perceived as advanced disease. The majority of such perforations are Stage III/IV disease. A T1 gastric carcinoma has never been reported to perforate spontaneously in English literature. We present a 56 year-old Chinese male who presented with a perforated gastric ulcer. Intra-operatively, there was no suspicion of malignancy. At operation, an open omental patch repair was performed. Post-operative endoscopy revealed a macroscopic Type 0~III tumour and from the ulcer edge biopsy was reported as adenocarcinoma. Subsequently, the patient underwent open subtotal gastrectomy and formal D2 lymphadenectomy. The final histopathology report confirms T1b N0 disease. The occurrence of a perforated early gastric cancer reemphasises the need for vigilance, including intra-operative frozen section and/or biopsy, as well as routine post-operative endoscopy for all patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.254-257
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• 2012

Gastric tuberculosis is rare even in the endemic areas of tuberculosis, and can mimic neoplasm by causing elevation of the mucosa with or without ulceration. Here, we report a case in which a 54-year-old female patient admitted for resection of early gastric cancer was found to have coexisting histopathologically and bacteriologically confirmed gastric cancer and tuberculosis.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.111-114
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• 2016

Herein, we report a 39-year-old female patient presenting with gastric cancer and tuberculous peritonitis. The differential diagnosis between advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis and early gastric cancer with peritoneal tuberculosis (TB), and the treatment of these two diseases, were challenging in this case. Physicians should have a high index of suspicion for peritoneal TB if the patient has a history of this disease, especially in areas with a high incidence of TB, such as South Korea. An early diagnosis is critical for patient management and prognosis. A surgical approach including tissue biopsy or laparoscopic exploration is recommended to confirm the diagnosis.