title: Survival outcome of laparoscopic gastrectomy for clinical early (cT1) gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for clinical early (cT1) gastric cancer (EGC) is superior to open gastrectomy in terms of the short-term outcome; however, long-term survival outcome remains elusive.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and ninety-one cT1 EGC patients who underwent LAG between 1998 and 2010 were registered to evaluate the survival outcome, including 237 patients who were observed for at least 5 years (long-term, L group), while 221 patients who were observed for at least 2-5 years (intermediate term, I group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 17 deaths, including 7 patients who developed recurrence (5 in pT1 and 2 in pT4a). Two fatal cases with pStage IIB were uniquely T1N3b. Six out of the 7 recurrences occurred within 2 years after surgery. The 237 patients in the L group included 6 of the recurrent deaths (2.5 %), while the 221 patients in the I group included 1 recurrent death (0.9 %). Recurrent sites of pathological T1 cases were the liver (n = 2), lung (n = 1), ovary (n = 1), and bone (n = 1), and no peritoneal or local recurrence was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collectively, the survival outcome of EGC by LAG was excellent and LAG was acceptable as a therapeutic procedure for EGC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0374, Japan. keishi23@med.kitasato-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakuramoto
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nemoto
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mieno
authors.forename: Natsuya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katada
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome