Surgery for gastric cancer: 10-year experience worldwide

To demonstrate recent experience of gastric cancer surgery worldwide and to evaluate modern strategies for the treatment of gastric cancer, we investigated the English-language literature of the past 10 years, based on papers published in well-known medical journals. In many countries, the increased detection of early gastric cancer, advanced operative procedures, and careful postoperative management have improved the surgical results of gastric cancer over the years. Although randomized controlled trials in Europe showed no survival benefit of D2 resection over D1 resection, the results must be interpreted with caution and cannot be extrapolated to Japanese patients, because the morbidity and mortality after D2 gastrectomy in Japan are much less than those after D1 gastrectomy in Europe. Recently, less invasive treatments, including endoscopic mucosal resection and laparoscopic gastrectomy, have become feasible for patients with early gastric cancer, but their risks and benefits compared with traditional gastrectomy are unclear.